FIELD  COLUMBIAN  MUSEUM 

PUBLICATION   103 
ANTHROPOLOGICAL  SERIES  VOL.  IX,  No.  2 


THE   CHEYENNE 


BY 


GEORGE  A.   DORSE Y 
ii 

Curator,  Department  of  Anthropology 


II.    THE  SUN  DANCE 


CHICAGO,  U.  S.  A. 

May,    1905 


THE  SUN   DAXCE 

By 
George  A.  Dorsey 


232157 


CONTENTS. 


IN 


Page 

Introductory  note  xiii 

PART    I.—  GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 

Xame  of  the  ceremony  57 

The  vow  57 

Interval  between  the  vow  and  the  ceremony  58 

Time  and  duration  of  the  ceremony  59 

The  assemblage  and  formation  of  the  camp-circle  61 

The  participants  62 

Synopsis  of  the  ceremony  by  days  64 

PART    II.—  THE  CEREMONY. 

Preliminary  days  66 

July  eighth  66 

July  ninth  66 

July  tenth  66 

The  First  Day  67 

The  Warriors  '-tipi  67 

The  Priests'-tipi  68 

Selection  of  chief  priest  68 

The  Second  Day  69 

The  morning  feast  69 

The  Lodge-maker  invites  the  priests  -                                                                70 

The  Cheyenne  and  Arapaho  social  dance  70 

The  office  of  Crier  7  r 

The  Lone-tipi  72 

The  barren  earth  72 

Assembling  of  the  Lone-tipi  priests  73 

The  pipe-tamper  and  cleaner  73 

The  first  earth  74 

Smoking  the  red  pipe  75 

Filling  the  sacred  pipe  76 

Painting  the  sacred  pipe  7  8 

The  second  earth  79 

Painting  the  Crier  80 

The  announcement  81 

Sacrifice  of  food  and  the  feast    • 

Events  outside  the  Lone-tipi 
The  Spy  for  the  center-pole 

Selecting  the  site  of  the  lodge  8  3 


vi  CONTENTS 

Page 

The  Third  Day  83 

Secret  rites  outside  the  Lone-tipi  84 

Wolf-Face  selects  the  center-pole  tree,  1901  84 

The  priests  search  for  a  larger  earth  84 

The  third  earth  85 

The  return  to  the  Lone-tipi    -  87 

Secret  rites  in  the  Lone-tipi  88 

The  fourth  earth    -  89 

The  sacrifice  and  feast  89 

Spy  for  the  center-pole  chosen  90 

Smoking  the  red  pipe  90 

The  buffalo  skull    -  91 

The  fifth  earth  91 

The  Rehearsal  92 

The  Fourth  Day  92 

Secret  rites  in  the  Lone-tipi  92 

The  Lodge-maker's  robe  93 

The  feast  and  preparation  of  the  priests  93 

The  woman's  belt  94 

The  Lodge-maker's  head-dress  95 

The  woman's  skirt  95 

The  Lodge-maker's  whistle  -  96 

Preparing  the  buffalo  skull  96 

The  center-pole  image  -  97 

The  drum-stick  rattles  98 

Filling  the  sacred  pipe   -  9g 

Painting  the  sacred  pipe  I0o 

The  earth-peg  and  fire-spoon  101 

The  noonday  feast  I02 

The  enemy  arrow  I02 

Painting  the  earth-peg  I0o 

The  arrow  and  the  earth-peg  I0^ 

Painting  the  Lodge-maker  and  his  wife  I04 

The  priests  prepare  to  leave  the  Lone-tipi  I06 

The  Lone-tipi  is  abandoned  I0- 

Public  rites  of  the  forenoon                                                                         _  I0g 

Counting  coup  at  the  site  of  the  center-pole  I08 

Timbers  for  the  Sun  Dance  lodge  I0g 

The  Lodge-maker  invites  the  warrior  societies    -  r  1 0 

The  center-pole  1  J  l 

The  hole  for  the  center-pole  z  r ., 

The  completion  of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge  I  j  -, 

Painting  the  lodge  poles  T I4 

The  fork  of  the  center-pole  T  :  6 

Raising  the  center-pole  r  x  8 

The  completion  of  the  lodge   -  r,0 

The  priests  enter  the  lodge  x  ^0 


CONTENTS  vii 

Page 

Evening  rites  in  the  Sun  Dance  lodge  i  2  i 

Rehearsal  and  informal  smoking  i  2  i 

The  dedication  of  the  lodge  i  22 

Preparation  124 

The  dancers  assemble  124 

Filling  the  sacred  pipe  125 

Thurification  126 

First  songs  126 

Second  songs         -  126 

The  rawhide  parflesh       -  127 

Third  songs  127 

Hand  and  arm  drill  127 

Fourth  songs  i  2  7 

Fifth  songs  128 

Sixth  songs  129 

Seventh  and  eighth  songs  129 

The  Chief  Priest  and  the  Lodge-maker's  wife  -  130 

The  beginning  of  the  dance  1 3  i 

The  Fifth  Day  132 

The  erection  of  the  altar  1 3  2 

The  excavation  133 

Preparation  of  the  altar  sticks  134 

Securing  the  sods        -  135 

The  semi-circle  and  altar  foliage  140 

The  dry  sand  painting  14- 

The  rainbow  sticks  M4 

The  men  sticks  145 

Filling  the  sacred  pipe  147 

The  dancers  are  painted,  first  paint  147 

The  feast  and  sacrifice  of  food  M9 

Piercing  the  children's  ears  i    ° 

Final  preparation  of  the  dancers  i    i 
Thurifying  the  rawhide 
The  first  dance 

The  second  paint  T    4 

The  Sixth  Day  i    6 

The  sunrise  dance   -  l 

The  third  paint  l 

The  fourth  paint  l6° 

The  fifth  paint  :6j 

The  Chief  Priest  dances  with  the  Lodge-maker  161 

The  final  dance    -  r6-7 

Breaking  the  fast  J^3 

Smoking  the  sacred  pipe  l(^4 

The  sweat  bath  l65 

The  fate  of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge  l66 


viii    '  CONTENTS 


PART   111.— PAINTS    WORN    BY   THE    DANCERS. 

Page 

Paints  worn  by  the  Lodge-maker's  wife    -  167 

Paints  worn  by  the  Lodge-maker  168 

Prescribed  or  regular  paints  169 

1.  The  Yellow  paint  169 

2.  The  Pink  paint  170 

3.  The  White  or  Hail  paint  170 

a.  The  green-White  paint  170 

b.  The  white-White  paint  171 

4.  The  Black,  Cyclone,  or  Dragon-Fly  paint  172 
a.     The  green-Black  paint  172 

c.  The  white-Black  paint  173 
Special  paints  worn  in  1903  173 
Paints  worn  by  the  Arapaho  174 

PART    IV.— TORTURE. 

Ancient  forms  of  torture       -  175 

The  torture  incidents  of  1903  177 

PART    V.— CONCLUSION. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Plate 

XVIII.  The  Lodge-maker,  on  the  Fourth  day 

XIX.  The  camp-circle 

XX.  Sun  Dance  priests 

XXI.  Arrival  of  bands  at  the  camp-circle   - 

XXII.  Cheyenne  and  Arapaho  social  dance 

XXIII.  Cheyenne  and  Arapaho  social  dance  - 

XXIV.  The  Lone-tipi 
XXV.  Filling  the  sacred  pipe 

XXVI.  Preparing  the  fire-spoon  and  earth-peg 

XXVII.  Priests  abandoning  the  Lone-tipi 

XXVIII.  Leaders  of  societies  in  ceremonial  attire 

XXIX.  Counting  coup  at  site  of  center-pole 

XXX.  Warrior  societies  parading 

XXXI.  Bringing  in  the  timbers  for  the  lodge 

XXXII.  The  Lodge-maker  inviting  the  societies 

XXXIII.  Building  the  Sun  Dance  lodge 

XXXIV.  Building  the  Sun  Dance  lodge 
XXXV.  Painting  the  lodge  poles 

XXXVI.      Painting  the  lodge  poles 

XXXVII.      The  earth-peg  and  the  Thunder-Bird's  nest 
XXXVIII.      Raising  the  center-pole 
XXXIX.      Raising  the  center-pole 

XL.      The  priests  entering  the  Sun  Dance  lodge 
XLI.     The  bed  of  the  Lodge-maker's  wife 
XLII.      Priests  making  the  excavation 
XLIII.      Priests  going  after  the  altar  sod 
XLIV.     The  priest  preparing  the  hands  of  Sage- Woman 
XLV.      Priests  inserting  the  altar  foliage 
XLVI.     The  altar 

XLVII.      The  grandfathers  painting  the  dancers 
XLVIII.     A  costumed  dancer 
XLIX.      Women  bringing  food  for  the  feast 

L.      Fig.  a.     Woman  bringing  bed  into  the  lodge 

Fig.  b.     The  Lodge-maker  offering  food 
LI.     Thurifying  the  rawhide 

Fig.  a.     Priest  folding  the  rawhide     • 
Fig.  b.     Lodge-maker  with  fire-spoon     - 
Fig.  c.     Lodge-maker  carrying  the  rawhide 
LI  I.      Scenes  inside  the  lodge 

Fig.  a.     Exchanging  presents 
Fig.  b.     Chief  announcing  a  present 
Fig.  c.     Old  chief  and  wife  making  love 
LIU.      Line  of  dancers  at  noon,  last  day 
LIV.      General  view  of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge 


Page 

57 
62 

63 
66 
67 

71 

72 
98 
101 
108 
109 
109 

I  10 

1 10 
iii 
in 
in 


117 
119 
119 

121 
124 
133 

J35 
T35 
140 
146 
148 

149 
149 
149 


I57 
J57 
157 

160 
1  60 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Plate 


LV. 

Fig.  a. 

Fig.  b. 

LVI. 

Fig.  a. 

Fig.  b. 

LVII. 

Fig.  a. 

Fig.  b. 

LVIII. 

Fig.  a. 

Fig.  b. 

LIX. 

Fig.  a. 

Fig.  b. 

LX. 

Fig.  a. 

Fig.  b. 

LXI. 

Fig.  a. 

Fig.  b. 

LXII. 

Fig.  a. 

Fig.  b. 

LXIII. 

Sun  D£ 

LXIV. 

Tortun 

LXV. 

Tortun 

LXVI. 

Tortur< 

LXVII. 

Ancien 

LXVIII. 

Tortun 

Figur 
I . 
2. 

3- 

4- 
5  • 
6. 

7- 
8. 

9- 
10. 
1 1 . 

I  2. 

r3- 

14. 

r5- 
16. 

i  7. 
18. 
19. 

20. 
21. 
22. 

23- 

24. 

25- 
26. 
27. 


Lodge-maker's  wife,  first  paint 

Lodge-maker's  wife,  second  paint 

Lodge-maker's  wife,  fourth  and  fifth  paints 

Lodge-maker,  second  paint 

The  Yellow  paint 

The  Pink  paint 

The  green- White  or  Hail  paint 

The  white- White  or  Hail  paint 

The  green-Black  or  Cyclone  paint 

The  white-Black  or  Cyclone  paint 

Special  paint 

Special  paint 

Special  paint 

First  paint  of  the  Arapaho 

Second  paint  of  the  Arapaho    - 

Third  and  fourth  paints  of  the  Arapaho 

Sun  Dance  torture,  to  center  pole 

Torture  by  means  of  skulls  attached  to  back 

Torture  by  skewers  in  cheeks 

Torture,  fulfilling  a  dream 

Ancient  tribal  torture  marks 

Torture  incident  of  1903 

The  Lodge-maker,  1901 

Section  of  the  camp-circle 

Section  of  the  camp-circle,  1901 

Arrival  of  a  band  at  the  camp-circle 

Parade  of  the  Dew-claw  Rattle  society   - 

The  Warriors '-tipi 

The  Lodge-maker  inviting  priests 

Social  dance 

Spectators  at  social  dance 

War-bonnets  exposed  to  the  sun 

Women  removing  Warriors '-tipi 

The  cleared  earth  in  the  Lone-tipi 

A  priest  on  his  way  to  the  Lone-tipi 

Diagram  of  Lone-tipi 

Sacred  pipe 

Lone-tipi  priest  smoking  sacred  pipe 

Chief  Priest  preparing  to  form  the  earth 

The  Chief  Priest  preparing  Lodge-maker's  hands 

The  pipe-tampers  and  new  earth 

The  Lodge-maker  taking  up  the  sacred  bundle 

The  Lone-tipi  priests  in  line 

Chief  Priest  assisting  the  Lodge-maker 

Diagram  of  Lodge-maker's  robe 

Cedar-Tree  preparing  the  woman's  belt 

The  buffalo  skull 

The  buffalo-skull  altar  in  the  Lone-tipi 

The  rawhide  human  effigy 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xi 

Figure  Page 

28.  Filling  the  sacred  pipe  99 

29.  Picking  up  the  bowl  of  the  sacred  pipe    -  99 

30.  Painting  the  sacred  pipe  100 

31.  Painting  the  sacred  pipe  101 

32.  The  fire-spoon  101 

33.  The  earth-peg  102 

34.  The  Lodge-maker,  in  ceremonial  costume  105 

35.  The  Lodge-maker's  wife  in  ceremonial  costume  106 

36.  The  Lodge-maker's  wife  carrying  buffalo  skull  107 

37.  The  priests  abandoning  the  Lone-tipi  107 

38.  Lodge-maker's  wife  depositing  the  buffalo  skull  108 

39.  The  Lone-tipi  priests  108 

40.  The  Lodge-maker  at  end  of  line  of  priests  108 

41.  Women  with  head-dresses  and  lances  of  willow  109 

42.  A  warrior  society  en  route  to  the  timber  no 

43.  Preparing  the  timbers  for  the  lodge  in 

44.  Erecting  the  lodge  in 

45.  The  chiefs  bringing  in  the  center-pole  112 

46.  Digging  the  hole  for  the  center-pole  112 

47.  Spectators  making  offerings  113 

48.  Making  an  offering  to  the  buffalo  skull  113 

49.  Priests  smoking  offering  pipes  114 

50.  Painting  the  center-pole  115 

5 1 .  Placing  the  brush  in  the  fork  of  the  center-pole  1 7 

52.  Making  offerings  to  the  fork  of  the  center-pole  .18 

53.  Lodge-maker's  wife  picking  up  the  pipe  18 

54.  Raising  the  center-pole  19 

55.  Completing  the  Sun  Dance  lodge  19 

56.  The  Lodge-maker's  wife  carrying  the  skull  20 

57.  The  priests  entering  the  Sun  Dance  lodge,  1901  120 

58.  Musicians  within  the  Sun  Dance  lodge  121 

59.  The  chiefs  selecting  leaders  123 

60.  Diagram  of  lodge  125 

61.  Priests  decorticating  altar  sticks  134 

62.  Priests  leaving  the  lodge  for  the  sods  135 

63.  The  Lodge-maker's  wife  and  Sage- Woman  136 

64.  Diagram  of  sods  136 

65.  Priest  outlining  sods  137 

66.  The  fifth  piece  of  sod  13? 

67.  Sage- Woman  and  the  Lodge-maker's  wife  138 

68.  The  Lodge-maker's  wife  placing  the  sods  138 

69.  Diagram  of  position  of  sods  and  skull  139 

70.  Priests  making  the  semi-circle  of  earth  i3Q 

71.  Chief  Priest  directing  the  Lodge-maker  14° 

72.  Lodge-maker's  wife  picking  up  the  digging  stick  14* 

73.  Lodge-maker's  wife  with  the  altar  foliage  Mr 

74.  Lodge-maker's  wife  completing  altar  foliage  T42 

75.  Preparing  the  dry-sand  picture  M3 

76.  Preparing  the  rainbow  sticks  :44 

77.  Inserting  the  rainbow  sticks  ]45 


xii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Figure  Page 

78.  Decorticating  the  men  sticks  145 

79.  Attaching  downy  feathers  to  the  altar  sticks  -  146 

80.  A  dancer  receiving  his  paint  147 

81.  Priest  repainting  the  Lodge-maker's  robe  148 

82.  The  bed  in  the  lodge  149 

83.  Women  removing  the  bed  from  the  lodge  150 

84.  A  dancer  sacrificing  food  150 

85.  Costumed  dancers,  1901  151 

86.  Costumed  dancer  152 

87.  Dancers  whistling  toward  the  center-pole,  1901  153 

88.  Dancers  washing  off  the  paint  153 

89.  Dancers  washing  off  the  paint  154 

90.  Arapaho  dancer  taking  up  willow  pole  154 

91.  Pipes  carried  by  the  Arapaho  dancers  155 

92.  Arapaho  dancers  in  line  156 

93.  Lodge-maker  sacrificing  to  the  altar  158 

94.  Woman  removing  bed  from  the  lodge  159 

95.  Diagram  of  lodge  showing  positions  of  sage  160 

96.  Chief  Priest  wearing  gifts  of  blankets  161 

97.  Chief  Priest  dancing  by  side  of  Lodge-maker  161 

98.  Chief  Priest  and  Lodge-maker  dancing  by  center-pole  162 

99.  Altar,  after  partial  destruction  by  Lodge-maker  162 

100.  Final  dance,  line  facing  the  east  162 

1 01.  Final  dance,  led  by  Chief  Priest  163 

102.  The  emetic  164 

103.  The  abandoned  lodge  165 

104.  Dancers  wearing  the  white  Cyclone  paint  173 

105.  Diagram  showing  method  of  attaching  torture  thongs  179 

106.  Individual  with  thongs  attached  to  back  179 

107.  Dragging  buffalo  skulls  attached  to  back  179 
108  Priest  removing  the  skewers        -                                         -          -          -          180 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE. 

This  account  of  the  Cheyenne  Sun  Dance  is  the  second  of  a  series 
of  reports  resulting  from  a  study  of  the  Sun  Dance  of  the  Plains  tribes, 
that  of  the  Arapaho  having  been  the  first.  The  method  of  treatment 
of  the  ceremony  under  consideration  follows  somewhat  closely  that 
of  my  account  of  the  Arapaho  ceremony.* 

I  first  witnessed  the  Cheyenne  Sun  Dance  in  1901,  at  which  time 
it  was  held  on  the  north  fork  of  the  Washita  River,  a  few  miles  from 
Watanga.  The  second  Sun  Dance  which  I  witnessed,  in  1903,  was 
held  a  few  miles  east  of  Eagle  City,  also  on  the  north  fork  of  the 
Washita.  The  Sun  Dance  held  in  1902  near  the  town  of  Calumet  I 
did  not  witness.  The  ceremony  was  not  pledged  for  the  year  1904, 
and  it  is  possible  that  it  will  never  again  be  pledged,  owing  to  the 
unwarranted  and  unjust  notoriety  given  the  ceremony  of  1903  by 
false  reports  concerning  certain  events  of  the  ceremony,  made  by 
John  H.  Segar,  United  States  Indian  Agent,  of  Colony,  Oklahoma, 
to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs. 

During  the  performance  of  1901  I  was  given  authority  by  a  council 
of  chiefs  to  witness  all  the  rites  of  the  ceremony,  and  I  remained 
throughout  this  performance,  using  De  Forest  Antelope  as  inter 
preter  and  Bushy-Head,  a  well-known  medicine-man  from  the  King 
fisher  district,  as  chief  informant.  At  that  time  my  knowledge  of 
the  Cheyenne  was  slight;  it  was  impossible,  therefore,  for  me  to  make 
close  observations  of  the  rites  in  the  Lone-tipi.  I  spent  the  greater 
part  of  the  three  preliminary  days  of  the  ceremony  in  obtaining 
from  Bushy-Head  such  information  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  cere 
mony  as  he  could  furnish.  The  ceremony  of  1901  was  unsatisfactory 
from  the  facts  that  the  rites  of  the  Lone-tipi  were  much  hurried  and 
that  the  number  of  dancers  was  small,  and  the  ceremony  came  to  an 
abrupt  end. 

The  ceremony  of  1903  was,  from  the  point  of  view  of  the  Indians 
themselves,  entirely  satisfactory;  for,  although  the  United  States 
Agent  at  Cantonment  had  made  the  foolish  threat  that  he  would 
stop  the  ceremony  by  calling  out  the  troops,  yet  the  assurance  given 
them  that  they  had  a  legal  right  to  their  ceremony  and  that  no 
one  could  lawfully  interfere  with  a  religious  performance  caused 
them  to  feel  at  ease  and  the  priests  and  dancers  entered  into  the 

*Cf.  The  Arapaho  Sun  Dance,  Field  Columbian  Museum,  Anthropological  Series,  Vol.  IV. 

xiii 


xiv      FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

ceremony  with  enthusiasm.  In  connection  with  neither  the  first  nor 
second  ceremony  was  there  any  disturbance  by  either  spectators  or 
by  the  Indians  themselves;  in  fact,  it  would  be  difficult  to  conceive 
of  a  gathering  of  white  people,  even  for  religious  purposes,  of  such 
large  numbers,  conducting  themselves  in  a  more  orderly  manner. 
The  true  spirit  of  the  ceremony  of  1903  was  especially  heightened 
by  the  fact  that  the  Indians  restricted  the  number  of  white  spec 
tators,  and  the  ceremony  was  therefore  largely  devoid  of  the  element 
of  a  spectacle  for  pay,  such  as  is  characteristic  at  times  of  certain 
large  Indian  gatherings  of  this  nature. 

By  the  time  of  the  ceremony  of  1903  I  was  much  better  acquainted 
with  the  leading  men  of  the  tribe  and  was  given  every  facility  for 
observing  the  rites  of  the  ceremony,  both  secret  and  public,  under 
very  favorable  circumstances.  My  interpreter  at  this  time  was 
Richard  Davis,  who  proved  competent,  and  who  manifested  great 
interest  and  enthusiasm  in  his  work.  The  priests  of  the  Lone-tipi, 
at  their  first  session  and  at  my  request,  appointed  one  of  their  num 
ber,  a  well-known  chief  and  Sun  Dance  priest,  by  the  name  of  Roman- 
Nose-Warrior,  who  should  devote  his  time  to  me.  This  arrangement 
proved  quite  satisfactory,  and  to  the  interest  manifested  by  him  and 
to  his  effort  that  I  misunderstand  no  detail  of  the  ceremony,  I  am 
greatly  indebted.  Mr.  James  Mooney  of  the  Bureau  of  Ethnology, 
was  also  present  at  this  ceremony,  and  he  improved  the  opportunity 
for  obtaining  information  from  the  chiefs  for  use  in  certain  inves 
tigations  which  he  was  conducting  for  this  Institution. 

All  the  photographs  herewith  produced,  except  a  few  made  by 
Mr.  Carpenter,  the  photographer  of  this  museum,  or  by  Mr.  Mooney, 
were  made  by  myself  during  the  ceremony.  When  not  otherwise 
indicated,  it  will  be  understood  that  the  illustrations  are  from  photo 
graphs  made  by  me  in  1903. 

The  narrative  part  of  this  account  will  follow  the  ceremony  of 
1903,  which  was  far  more  complete  than  that  of  1901,  and  which 
was  studied  in  greater  detail.  Where  the  1901  ceremony  differed 
materially  from  that  of  1903  it  will  be  noted. 

GEORGE  A.  DORSEY. 
May  i,  1905. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   XVIII. 


PL.  XVIII.    THE  LODGE-MAKER,  ON  THE  FOURTH  DAY. 


PART   I.— GENERAL  OBSERVATIONS. 

Before  considering  the  detailed  rites  of  the  ceremony  as  they  are 
enacted  during  the  successive  days  that  constitute  the  performance 
it  is  necessary  to  explain  briefly  certain  preliminary  events  connected 
with  the  ceremony,  such  as  its  name,  time,  duration,  etc. 

NAME    OF    THE    CEREMONY. 

The  name  given  by  the  Cheyenne  to  the  Sun  Dance  is  the  New- 
Life-lodge.  According  to  the  interpretation  of  the  priest,  the  name 
means  not  only  the  lodge  of  new  life,  or  lodge  of  new  birth,  but  it  is 
also  the  new  life  itself.  The  performance  of  the  ceremony  is  sup 
posed  to  re-create,  to  re-form,  to  re-animate  the  earth,  vegetation, 
animal  life,  etc. ;  hence  it  would  not  be  inappropriate  to  speak  of  the 
Sun  Dance  as  the  ceremony  of  rebirth  or  of  the  renaissance.  Addi 
tional  information  as  to  the  significance  of  the  name  of  the  ceremony 
may  be  found  in  the  following  remarks  made  by  a  priest  in  answer  to 
a  question  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  word:  "Formerly  this  dance 
represented  only  the  creation  of  the  earth.  The  Cheyenne  grew  care 
less  and  combined  other  things  with  the  ceremony.  At  the  time  of 
the  Lone-tipi,  though  everything  is  barren,  the  earth  is  beginning  to 
grow.  Now  it  has  grown.  Thus  they  make  the  earth,  buffalo  wal 
low,  grease,  wool,  and  sinew  to  make  growth.  By  the  time  of  the 
end  of  the  lodge  things  have  grown,  people  have  become  happy;  the 
world  has  reached  its  full  growth,  and  people  rejoice.  When  they 
use  the  bone  whistle  they  are  happy  like  the  eagle,  which  is  typical 
of  all  birds  and  of  all  happiness." 

THE    VOW. 

The  Sun  Dance  of  the  Cheyenne,  like  that  of  the  Arapaho,  but 
unlike  that  of  the  Siouan  tribes,  is  the  direct  result  of  a  vow  or  pledge 
made  by  a  single  individual.  The  ceremony  of  1903  was  pledged  by 
an  individual  by  the  name  of  Little-Hawk  (see  PI.  XVIII.),  whose 
wife  is  one  of  the  medicine-women  of  the  tribe.  It  seems  that  shortly 
after  the  ceremony  of  1902  Little-Hawk's  child  was  taken  suddenly 
and  violently  ill,  and  at  that  time  he  vowed  that  he  would,  on  the  fol 
lowing  year,  give  the  ceremony. 

The  ceremony  of  1901  was  the  direct  result  of  a  vow  made  by 

57 


58       FIKI.I)    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

the  wife  of  Pappai  (see  Fig.  i), 
who,  during  a  thunderstorm, 
saw  a  bolt  of  lightning  corning 
directly  toward  her. 

It  appears  that  vows  for 
the  preservation  of  the  life  of 
a  member  of  the  pledger's 
family  is  now  the  chief  reason 
for  the  pledge,  and  this  prob 
ably  has  been  the  most  fre 
quent  occasion  of  the  vow  in 
the  past.  Other  reasons,  how 
ever,  are  assigned  as  causes  for 
making  the  vow.  Thus  it  is 
said,  for  example,  that  when 
men  have  been  hard  pressed 

while  on  the  war-path,  and  it  seemed  not  possible  for  them  to 
escape  the  enemy,  they  have  vowed  to  give  the  ceremony  should 
they  be  permitted  to  escape.  Again,  it  is  said  that  on  certain 
occasions  men  have  been  out  in  a  stcrm  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  light 
ning  were  about  to  strike  them,  and  in  fact,  so  it  is  believed,  the 
lightning  would  have  struck  them  had  they  not  instantly  pledged 
the  ceremony. 

A  man  may  pledge  the  ceremony  more  than  cnce.  It  is  said  of 
one  individual  that  he  made  the  lodge  four  times.  Tall-Man,  the 
Chief  Priest  in  1901,  made  the  ceremony  three  times. 

The  name*  given  to  the  pledger  is  "reproducer,"  or  "multiplier"; 
for  through  him  the  tribe  is  supposed  to  be  reborn  and  to  increase, 
and,  as  the  name  of  the  ceremony  itself  applies,  through  his  act  all 
nature  is  supposed  to  reproduce  her  kind. 


FIG.  i.     The  Lodge-maker,  1901, 


INTERVAL    BETWEEN    THE    VOW    AND    THE    CEREMONY. 

Shortly  after  making  the  vow,  Little-Hawk  asked  the  members 
of  the  warrior  society  to  which  he  belonged,  the  Dew-clan  Rattle,  to 
assemble  at  his  lodge,  for  they  were  to  prepare  the  feast.  On  this 
occasion  he  appeared  before  them  with  his  face  and  hands  painted 
red,  the  painting  having  been  done  by  a  medicine-man.  Thereafter  he 
would  continue  to  wear  red  paint  until  the  last  day  of  the  ceremony, 
although  the  time  might  be  ten  or  twelve  months  or  even  longer. 

After  the  warriors  were  gathered  in  the  lodge  he  presented  to  the 
head  man  of  the  society  a  pipe  which  was  passed  about  the  circle 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CIIEYEXXE  —  DORSEY.  59 

and  smoked.  He  then  formally  asked*  them  to  dance  with  him  and 
assist  him  in  the  ceremony.  At  this  time  Little-Hawk's  fellow- 
warriors  made  him  many  presents,  such  as  ponies,  moccasins,  blan 
kets,  calico,  and  money. 

It  is  the  custom  that  should  it  not,  for  any  reason,  be  proper  for 
the  wife  of  the  Pledger  to  take  part  in  the  Sun  Dance,  he  should  at 
this  time,  with  the  advice  of  the  men  of  his  society,  appoint  a  woman 
to  take  her  place. 

After  this  meeting  Little-Hawk  went  from  place  to  place  visiting 
the  different  camps  in  his  district  and  the  camps  of  the  other  districts, 
informing  all  that  he  encountered  that  he  had  made  the  pledge,  and 
inviting  them  to  participate  in  the  ceremony. 

Later  in  the  year  Little-Hawk  again  made  a  feast  and  invited  the 
members  of  his  own  society,  at  which  meeting  they  conferred  and 
decided  on  a  time  and  place  for  the  ceremony.  After  the  meeting 
he  continued  gathering  presents  to  help  him  defray  the  expenses  of 
the  ceremony,  and  he  gave  his  special  attention  to  the  securing  of 
certain  objects  which  would  be  required  in  the  ceremony,  such  as 
paints,  the  sacred  pipe,  feathers,  rattles,  jerked  meat,  medicinal  roots, 
buffalo  robe,  buffalo  skull,  etc.  In  this  the  members  of  his  society 
assisted  him. 

During  the  time  between  the  making  of  the  vow  and  the  cere 
mony,  the  Pledger  and  his  wife  discontinue  relationship  as  man  and 
wife,  for  should  they  have  connection,  one  or  both  of  them  would  die. 
A  similar  fate  would  follow  in  case  either  proved  untrue  and  com 
mitted  adultery.  During  this  time,  also,  no  one  of  the  tribe  may 
pass  in  front  of  either  the  Pledger  or  his  wife,  either  within  or  out  of 
doors;  for  should  this  happen  one  or  both  of  them  would  die,  and  the 
person  who  committed  the  offense  would  meet  with  misfortune. 

TIME    AND    DURATION    OF    THE    CEREMONY. 

As  among  the  Arapaho,  I  have  been  unable  to  find  that  any  one 
of  the  summer  months  among  the  Cheyenne  is  peculiarly  appropriate 
for  the  Sun  Dance.  It  may  not  be  held,  however,  until  the  grass  has 
reached  its  full  growth  and  the  willows  and  cottonwoods  are  in  full 
leaf.  It  is  more  than  possible  that  formerly  the  time  of  the  beginning 
of  the  dance  was  regulated  by  the  phase  of  the  moon.  All  the  cere 
monies  of  which  I  have  record  were  held  either  in  July  or  August, 
the  majority  of  them  in  July. 

*The  reason  of  this  request  is  that  the  dancers,  in  the  Cheyenne  ceremony,  participate,  not 
because  they  also  have  vowed  to  dance,  but  because  they  belong  to  the  warrior  society  of  the  one 
who  has  pledged  the  ceremony. 


60       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

As  already  noted,  the  occasion  of  the  ceremony  is  a  vow  or  pledge ; 
consequently,  should  no  vow  or  pledge  have  been  made,  there  would 
be  no  Sun  Dance.  The  ceremony  is  not,  therefore,  necessarily 
annual,  as  it  is,  so  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain,  among  the 
Ponca  and  the  other  tribes  of  the  Sioux.  With  but  a  single  excep 
tion,  it  is  said  the  ceremony  has  never  been  held  more  than  once  in 
a  single  year.  On  this  occasion  an  epidemic  in  the  tribe  was  respon 
sible  for  a  second  performance,  which  took  place  with  only  a  single 
day  intervening  between  it  and  the  first  performance,  the  same 
camp-circle  being  used  for  both. 

As  pointed  out  in  another  place,  the  duration  of  the  ceremony 
varies  to  a  slight  extent.  I  have  found  a  considerable  amount  of 
discrepancy  among  the  priests  themselves  as  to  what  actually  consti 
tutes  the  first  day;  but  it  is  easy  to  establish  the  fact  that  the  day 
on  which  the  altar  is  erected  is  at  least  the  fourth  day,  possibly  the 
fifth.  This  is  the  first  day  of  the  fasting  and  on  this  day  the  first 
paint  is  worn  by  the  dancers.  The  duration  of  the  ceremony  beyond 
this  day  depends  entirely  upon  the  number  of  days  which  the  Chief 
Priest  fasted  when  he  himself  was  Lodge-maker.  It  is  said  that  there 
is  no  Sun  Dance  priest  now  living  who,  as  Lodge-maker,  fasted  four 
days.  Two  Cheyenne  who  recently  died  are  said  to  have  fasted  four 
days.  Of  these  Maple-Tree  was  reputed  to  have  lived  to  the  age  of 
1 08  years  and  Black-Man  to  the  age  of  98  years.  The  most  common 
period  of  fasting  is  two  days,  this  being  the  duration  of  the  fasting  in 
both  1901  and  1903.  It  seems,  therefore,  that  originally  the  dura 
tion  of  the  ceremony,  should  the  so-called  altar  day  be  regarded  as 

the  fourth  day,  was  eight 
days.  It  should  be  noted, 
however,  that  in  consider 
ing  the  altar  day  as  the 
fourth  day,  this  omits  in 
the  reckoning  both  the  erec 
tion  of  the  Warriors'-tipi  and 
the  formation  of  the  camp- 
circle.  The  majority  of  my 
informants  are  inclined  to  re 
gard  the  altar  day  as  the 
fourth  day,  and  the  ceremony 
therefore  would  vary  from  five 
to  eight  days'  duration,  ac 
cording  to  the  number  of 
FIG.  2.  Section  of  the  camp-circle.  fasting  or  dancing  days. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


61 


THE    ASSEMBLAGE    AND    FORMATION    OF    THE 
CAMP-CIRCLE. 

Formerly  when  the  agent  was  not  insisting  that  they  assemble 
promptly,  hurry  through  their  ceremony,  and  return  to  their  homes, 
much  time  was  consumed  in  the  formation  of  the  camp-circle.  In 
the  formation  of  the  circle  in  1903,  however,  less  haste  was  shown 
than  in  that  of  1901.  On  July  8th  the  first  band  arrived,  consisting 
chiefly  of  the  Dog-men  Warriors.  They  pitched  their  tipis  in  the 
plain  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  which  had  been  selected  as  the 
site  of  the  ceremony.  (See  Figs.  2  and  3.) 

Formerly  it  was  customary  for  the  bands  as  they  arrived  to  pitch 
their  tipis  without  reference  to  the  camp-circle ;  for  as  yet  it  was  assumed 
that  the  circle  had  not  been  definitely  marked  out.  This  task  fell  to  the 
members  of  the  warrior  society 
of  the  Pledger  who,  when  they 
had  erected  their  tipis  and  had 
laid  out  the  circle  and  placed 
their  tipis  in  the  proper  place  in 
the  circle,  were  supposed  to  go 
out  and  drive  the  remainder  of 
the  tribe  into  the  camp.  When 
the  entire  tribe  had  appeared 
and  a  tipi  known  as  the  "War- 
riors'-tipi"  had  been  selected, 
the  camp-circle  was  formed. 

On  the  following  day  addi 
tional  bands  arrived,  chiefly 
from  the  Kingfisher  and  Dar 
lington  districts  (see  Fig.  4) ,  and 
the  circle  was  marked  out.  On  July  loth  additional  bands  arrived, 

and  the  circle  was  fairly 
well  filled,  there  being  a 
sufficient  number  of  each 
band  present  to  give  the 
circle  the  appearance  of 
completeness. 

The  camp-circle  was 
more  than  a  mile  in  diam 
eter,  with  an  open  space 

IfdtiHMMNRsV'iP-  *       *nM/Jlu&r;'.j"?WHp     or  entrance1  on  the  eastern 
FIG.  4.     Arrival  of  a  band  at  the  camp-circle.          side,  probably    a   quarter 


FIG.  3.     Section  of  the  camp-circle,  IQOI. 


62       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

of  a  mile  wide.  The  camp-circle  must  always  be  located  on  the  south 
bank  of  a  river;  it  is  symbolic  of  the  circle  of  stars  overhead,  which 
is  often  called  the  camp-circle.  It  is  also  likened  to  a  big  tipi  with  its 
entrance  facing  east,  and  bearing  the  same  name  as  the  door  of  the 
tipi. 

Unlike  the  Arapaho,  tribal  divisions  prevail  among  the  Chey 
enne,  and  their  camp-circle  is  in  conformity  to  this  system.  The 
following  (see  PI.  XIX.)  is  a  list  of  the  divisions  in  order,  beginning 
with  the  first  and  most  important,  that  on  the  south  side  nearest  the 
opening,  the  last  named  occupying  the  northeastern  section  of  the 
circle  nearest  the  opening  and  opposite  the  first  division: 

1.  Aorta. 

2.  Arrow-men. 

3.  Ridge-men. 

4.  Outlaw. 

5.  Poor. 

6.  Sutayo. 

7.  Hive. 

8.  Prominent  Jaws. 

9.  Ute. 

10.  Cheyenne  Sioux. 

11.  Grasshoppers. 

12.  Eaters. 

13.  Young-White-Wolf. 

This  list,  with  the  relative  positions  of  the  divisions,  as  shown  on 
the  diagram,  has  been  prepared  after  much  inquiry  and  the  sifting 
of  conflicting  testimony.  The  list  does  not  agree  with  that  of 
Mooney  or  Grinnell ;  it  is  quite  possible  that  no  two  lists  made  to-day 
by  different  investigators  would  agree. 

THE    PARTICIPANTS. 

Foremost  among  the  active  participants  of  the  dance  is  the  one 
who  made  the  vow,  heretofore  spoken  of  in  these  pages  as  the 
Pledger,  and  who  hereafter  will  be  called  the  "Lodge-maker."  He 
corresponds  to  the  mythical  Erect-Horns.  Second  only  in  the  rank 
to  the  Lodge-maker  is  his  female  associate,  generally,  though  not 
always,  his  wife.  As  will  be  seen,  both  in  the  account  of  the  cere 
mony  itself  and  in  the  myth  of  the  origin  of  the  ceremony,  it  is 
entirely  proper  to  take  as  associate  for  the  ceremony  the  wife  of 
another  man.  The  Lodge-maker  is  present  during  the  whole,  and 
his  wife  most  of  the  time  of  the  secret  rites  in  the  sacred  lodge,  but 


,  -•- •    '  • 


PL.  XIX.    THE  CAMP-CIRCLE. 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.   XIX. 


\^ 


A 


\ 


CAMP 


c/*c/ 


2-6-11  ARE  ANCIENT. 

13-13-11-10-9-8-5-2  ARE  CHEYENNE  PROPER  OR  DOG 
SOLDIER  BAUD.     1-5-8-9-IO-IE  -13   WERE  FORM 
ED  SINCE  75  YEARS  AGO.     5-4-7  AND  RE 
MAINDER  OF  MAIR  ROPE  MEN  OR  SOUTH 
ERN  CMEYENNE5  FORMED  5IMCE  1853. 


BUFFALO  CAP 
LODGE 


& 


*V4; 


MIVE  BAND 


2 
o 
o 

rn 


A 

A 


PL.  XX.    SUN  DANCE  PRIESTS. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  63 

he  is  not  considered  a  Sun  Dance  priest  until  the  end  of  the  second 
night  of  these  rites. 

The  Chief  Priest  of  the  ceremony,  known  as  the  one  who  "Shows- 
How,"  and  who  represents  the  spirit  who  taught  the  ceremony  to 
Erect-Horns  within  the  cave,  is  selected,  as  already  noted,  by  mem 
bers  of  the  warrior  society  of  the  Lodge-maker.  He  may  not  be 
related  by  marriage,  for  reasons  which  will  appear,  to  the  Lodge- 
maker,  though  he  may  be  related  by  blood.  He  must  have  been 
Pledger  of  a  ceremony  one  or  more  times. 

The  chief  point  considered  by  the  warrior  society  in  choosing  the 
Chief  Priest  is  the  confidence  which  they  have  in  their  ability,  and  that 
of  the  Lodge-maker,  to  fast.  Thus,  should  they  believe  themselves 
able  to  fast  four  days,  they  select  as  Chief  Priest  a  former  Lodge- 
maker  who  fasted  for  that  time.  Should  they  believe  that  they 
could  fast  for  three  days  only,  they  would  choose  one  who  when 
Lodge-maker  had  fasted  for  that  length  of  time. 

The  remaining  participants  in  the  rites  of  the  sacred  lodge  were 
those  who  had  pledged  the  ceremony  in  former  times  and  who, 
therefore,  may  be  properly  called  "Sun  Dance  priests."  These  indi 
viduals  also,  along  with  the  Lodge-maker,  are  known  as  "  Reani- 
mators."  (See  PI.  XX.) 

The  individuals  who  dance  during  the  public  performance  in  the 
ceremony  are  the  members  of  the  warrior  society  of  the  Lodge- 
maker.  Others  may  dance  and  fast  if  they  desire.  In  the  dance  of 
1903,  several  individuals  participated  in  the  ceremony  by  fasting 
and  dancing  who  were  not  members  of  the  Lodge-maker's  society ; 
among  the  number  wrere  two  Arapaho.  In  recent  times  it  is  not 
obligatory  upon  the  members  of  the  Lodge-maker's  society  to  fast. 
In  former  times,  however,  they  participated  by  fasting  and  dancing, 
or  suffered  the  possible  loss  of  their  horses  and  the  destruction  of 
their  tipi.  The  list  of  the  participants  so  far  as  recorded  is  here 
presented  for  the  two  ceremonies  witnessed. 

PARTICIPANTS. 

1903.  1901. 

Little-Hawk.  Lodge-maker.  Pappai. 

Blue.  Chief  Priest.  Tall-Man. 

Porcupine,  Sioux.  Assistant  Chief  Priest.       Red-Cloud. 

Bull-Tongue.  Crier. 


64       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

PRIESTS. 

Big-Baby.  Cedar-Tree. 

Black-Man.  Blow- Away. 

Red-Cloud.  Turtle. 

Good-Bear.  Red-Wolf. 

Roman-Nose.  Big-Baby. 

Mud-Man.  Black-Horse. 

Lone- Wolf.  Blue. 

Deafy.  Good-Man. 

Good-Man.  Porcupine-Sioux. 

Three-Fingers.  Little-Snake. 

Medicine-Bundle.  Cedar-Tree. 

Dew-Claw  Rattle.  Society  participating.             Omaha. 


SYNOPSIS    OF    THE    CEREMONY    BY    DAYS. 

In  order  that  the  description  of  events  of  the  ceremony  may 
be  more  easily  followed,  there  is  presented  here  a  summary  state 
ment  or  list  of  events  in  the  order  in  which  they  occurred  on  each 
day's  performance  in  the  1903  ceremony. 

FIRST  DAY.  It  was  assumed  that  the  camp-circle  had  been 
formed  and  was  complete,  and  that  a  certain  tipi  belonging  to  a 
member  of  the  society  of  the  Lodge-maker  had  been  selected  as  the 
one  which  would  be  used  as  the  secret  lodge  of  preparation  for  the 
next  three  days.  There  was  nothing  to  distinguish  this  tipi  from 
the  other  tipis  in  the  circle,  either  in  character  or  position.  On 
the  morning  of  this  day  it  is  designated  as  the  Warriors'-tipi.  All 
who  had  been  Lodge-makers  in  previous  years  repaired  to  this  tipi, 
along  with  the  Lodge-maker  and  his  wife,  and  the  tipi  is  now  known 
as  the  Priests'-tipi. 

SECOND  DAY.  Early  in  the  morning  the  priests  feasted.  The 
Lodge-maker  invited  the  assistance  of  all  former  priests,  and  the  Crier 
was  appointed.  Then  the  tipi  was  carried  a  distance  of  fifty  steps 
into  the  circle  from  the  inner  line  of  the  camp.  It  is  now  known 
as  the  "Lone-tipi."  The  following  rites  were  then  enacted:  After 
the  "barren  ground"  had  been  made,  the  priests  assembled  to  the 
number  of  about  fifteen.  The  first  "earth"  was  made;  the  sacred 
pipe  was  filled;  the  second  "earth"  was  made;  the  Crier  was  painted 
and  left  the  tipi  and  made  the  announcement.  Outside  the  Lone- 
tipi  arrangements  were  made  for  spying  the  center-pole,  and  the  site 
of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge  was  determined. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEV,  65 

THIRD  DAY.  The  Lone-tipi  priests  ceremonially  traveled  over 
the  "earth"  outside  the  Lone-tipi,  engaged  in  smoking,  and  made 
the  third  "earth";  returning  to  the  Lone-tipi  they  made  the  fourth 
"earth,"  feasted  and  sacrificed  food.  The  buffalo  skull  was  carried 
into  the  tipi,  and  the  fifth  "earth"  was  made.  The  musicians  re 
hearsed  Sun  Dance  songs  during  the  night. 

FOURTH  DAY.  The  secret  rites  in  the  Lone-tipi  comprised  the 
preparation  and  painting  of  the  paraphernalia  of  the  Lodge-maker 
and  his  wife,  and  the  preparation  and  painting  of  materials  to  be 
used  in  the  construction  of  the  altar,  such  as  the  buffalo  skull,  the 
center-pole  image,  the  drum-stick  rattles,  the  earth-peg,  and  the 
fire-spoon.  The  sacred  pipe  was  filled.  By  the  middle  of  the  after 
noon  the  priests  were  ready  to  abandon  the  Lone-tipi.  Outside 
the  Lone-tipi  during  the  fore  part  of  the  day  the  warrior  societies 
counted  coup  on  the  site  of  the  center-pole.  The  timbers,  includ 
ing  the  center-fork,  were  brought  to  the  center  of  the  camp-circle 
and  the  Sun  Dance  lodge  had  been  partially  completed.  The  priests 
now  abandoned  the  Lone-tipi  and  united  with  the  warrior  societies 
in  completing  the  erection  of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge,  this  act  being 
preceded  by  the  painting  of  certain  poles  and  the  placing  of  certain 
objects  in  the  fork  of  the  center-pole.  In  the  evening  the  Sun  Dance 
lodge  was  formally  dedicated  by  the  chiefs  and  warrior  societies, 
after  which  the  dancers  assembled,  the  sacred  songs  were  sung,  and 
dancers  performed  the  so-called  "hand  and  arm  drill."  The  con 
clusion  of  the  day  was  marked  by  the  beginning  of  the  dance  proper, 
preceded  by  interesting  rites  enacted  outside  the  lodge  by  the  Chief 
Priest,  the  wife  of  the  Lodge-maker,  and  other  priests. 

FIFTH  DAY.  The  construction  of  the  altar  occupied  the  fore 
noon  and  included  several  rites,  such  as  the  measuring  and  excava 
tion  of  the  earth  in  front  of  the  buffalo  skull,  the  journey  after  the 
sods  of  earth  for  the  semi-circle,  the  making  of  the  dry  sand  picture, 
and  the  manufacture  and  erection  of  the  men  and  rainbow  sticks  and 
the  foliage.  The  final  act  in  the  construction  of  the  altar  was  the 
filling  of  the  sacred  pipe.  At  noon  was  the  formal  feast  of  the  grand 
fathers  or  priests,  provided  by  the  relatives  of  the  dancers,  and  the 
sacrifice  of  food.  The  dancers  were  painted  and  properly  costumed, 
the  rawhide  was  incensed,  and  there  followed  the  first  dance  with 
the  first  paint.  Later  in  the  day  followed  the  second  dance  and 
second  paint,  with  similar  accompanying  rites. 

SIXTH  DAY.  Three  distinct  paints  were  crowded  together  on 
this  day,  each  one  of  which  should  have  occupied  an  entire  day. 
The  rites  accompanying  each  one  of  these  paints  were  similar  to  those 


66       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

enumerated  for  the  first  paint  of  the  fifth  day.  At  daybreak  there 
was  a  sunrise  dance,  the  day  proper  being  occupied  by  the  third, 
fourth,  and  fifth  paints.  At  sundown  occurred  the  dance  and  the 
rites  to  the  medicine-spirits  of  the  four  directions;  this  marked  the 
conclusion  of  the  dance  proper.  The  dancers  removed  their  paint, 
went  to  their  respective  homes,  and  broke  the  fast;  the  Lodge-maker 
and  his  wife  and  certain  priests  smoked  the  sacred  pipe,  broke  the 
fast;  and  the  Lodge-maker  and  his  wife,  in  company  with  the  Chief 
Priest  and  his  wife,  took  a  sweat  bath,  all  the  other  dancers  and 
priests  indulging  in  the  same  rite  of  purification. 


PART    II.— THE   CEREMONY. 

PRELIMINARY    DAYS. 

Formerly  a  considerable  amount  of  leeway  was  given  the  mem 
bers  of  the  tribe  in  assembling  at  the  site  of  the  ceremony,  and  it 
was  not  until  all  the  members  of  the  tribe  were  present,  either  of 
their  own  free  will  or  through  force,  and  it  was  not  until  after  a  certain 
tipi,  designated  as  the  Warrior-tipi,  had  been  entered  by  the  Sun 
Dance  priests  and  Lodge-maker,  that  the  ceremony  could  be  said 
to  have  begun. 

JULY   EIGHTH. 

As  a  matter  of  record  it  may  be  noted  that  in  1903  the  first  bands, 
the  majority  being  members  of  the  Dog-men  organization,  made 
their  appearance  at  the  camp  site  on  July  8th. 

JULY   NINTH. 

On  July  gth  bands  from  Darlington  and  Kingfisher  arrived. 
As  they  arrived  in  their  wagons,  carrying  their  cooking  utensils, 
tipi  and  tipi  furniture,  they  drove  around  the  camp-circle  sunwise 
fashion,  singing  as  they  went,  and  being  cheered  in  turn  by  those 
already  on  the  site.  (See  PI.  XXI.) 

JULY   TENTH. 

On  July  loth  the  large  band  from  Washita  appeared,  and,  like 
the  others,  made  the  circuit  of  the  circle,  cheering  and  shouting. 

On  the  evening  of  this  day  the  Dew-claw  Rattle  society,  that  is, 
the  warrior  society  of  the  Lodge-maker,  informally  asked  Three- 
Fingers,  one  of  their  number,  to  be  on  the  lookout  for  a  cottonwood- 
tree  which  would  be  suitable  for  the  center-pole  of  the  Sun  Dance 


PL.  XXI.    ARRIVAL  OF  BANDS  AT  THE  CAMP-CIRCLE. 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.   XXI 


•L  JNi  ^  -^  >^ 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   XXII. 


PUP; 

pi?        f 


PL.  XXII.    CHEYENNE  AND  ARAPAHO  SOCIAL  DANCE. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYEXXE  —  DORSEY.  67 

lodge.  Then,  according  to  a  prearranged  plan,  and  in  accordance 
with  the  wishes  of  the  Lodge-maker,  Blue  was  selected  as  Chief 
Priest;  he  formally  gave  his  consent  by  accepting  the  pipe  which  was 
carried  to 
him.  Later 
that evening 
there  was  a 
parade  of 
this  society, 
the  mem 
bers  preced- 
ingthe  chiefs 

bv  a  consid- 

r  IG.  5.     Parade  of  the  Dew-claw  Rattle  society, 
erablespace. 

(See  Fig.  5.)  During  the  time  of  the  parade  those  families  who  had 
suffered  the  loss  of  one  of  their  number  during  the  preceding  year, 
stood  out  in  front  of  their  lodge  and  mcurned.  The  object  of  the 
parade  was  to  make  manifest  to  the  members  of  the  tribe  their 
willingness  and  eagerness  to  assist  their  fellow-member  in  the  forth 
coming  ceremony.  Another  object,  but  secondary,  was  that,  through 
their  singing,  as  they  made  the  journey  about  the  camp-circle,  they 
would  enlist  the  sympathy  of  the  members  of  the  tribe  and  receive 
contributions  which  would  go  toward  defraying  the  expenses  of  the 
ceremony. 

On  the  afternoon  of  this  day  a  large  band  of  young  men  erected 
a  temporary  shelter  on  the  east  side  of  the  camp-circle.  They 
danced  social  dances,  alternating  with  bands  of  Arapaho,  who,  as 
a  tribe,  always  attend  the  Cheyenne  ceremony.  (See  PI.  XXII.) 

THE    FIRST    DAY. 

THE   WARRIORS'-TIPI. 

According  to  the  time-honored  program  of  the  ceremony,  it  is 
assumed  that  on  the  morning  of  this  day  the  formal  rites  should  be 
preceded  by  the  selection,  by  the  warrior  society  of  the  Lodge-maker, 
of  a  tipi  of  one  of  their  own  number,  in  which  they  should  meet,  and 
which  is  known  as  the  Warriors'-tipi.  A  little  later  this  tipi  is  sup 
posed  to  be  lifted  from  the  ground  by  women,  wives  of  the  society 
members,  there  being  one  for  each  tipi  pole,  and  moved  forward  a 
short  distance  toward  the  spot  which  has  been  chosen  as  the  center 
of  the  circle. 


68      FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

THE   PRIESTS'-TIPI. 

The  inner  edge  of  the  tipi,  after  it  has  been  thus  moved,  becomes 
the  inner  boundary  line  of  the  camp-circle,  and  this  tipi,  first  known 
as  the  Warriors'-tipi,  is  now  designated  as  the  Priests'-tipi. 

SELECTION  OF  CHIEF  PRIEST. 

According  to  custom  the  Lodge-maker's  society  should  now  have 
met  in  this  tipi  for  the  purpose  of  selecting  with  appropriate  rites 
a  Chief  Priest,  and  a  woman  to  act  with  the  Lodge-maker,  if  for  any 
reason  whatsoever  it  be  deemed  impossible  or  improper  for  his  wife 
to  serve  in  this  capacity.  This  formality  had  been  gone  through 
on  the  preceding  day,  and  Blue  had  been  chosen  to  act  as  the  Chief 
Priest. 

From  this  statement  of  events  as  they  are  supposed  to  take 
place,  we  turn  to  the  actual  occurrences  of  this  day. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  circle  had  been  well  marked  out  by  the 
Dog-men  on  their  arrival  on  July  8th,  three  days  previous  to  what 
has  been  called  the  First  Day,  and  the  bands,  immediately  upon 


FIG.  6.     The  Warriors'-tipi. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  69 

their  arrival,  pitched  their  tipis  in  conformity  with  the  plan  laid 
out,  so  that  it  was  not  necessary  to  move  the  tipis.  Furthermore, 
the  tipi  to  be  designated  as  the  Warriors'-tipi  had  already  been 
selected,  and  was  left  standing  where  it  had  been  erected  originally, 
at  the  edge  of  the  circle.  (See  Fig.  6.) 

Early  in  the  morning,  Three-Fingers,  as  he  had  been  directed 
on  the  preceding  day,  went  out  on  horseback  to  select,  without 
formality,  a  center-pole.  At  the  same  time  the  Dew-claw  Rattle 
society  again  paraded  the  camp-circle,  as  on  the  previous  night. 
After  the  parade  the  society  met  in  the  tipi  of  Black-Bear,  a  member 
of  the  Bow-string  society.  I  was  not  present  at  this  meeting,  but 
was  told  that  after  they  had  all  entered,  one  of  the  four  girls  belong 
ing  to  the  organization  took  part  in  the  meeting  and  at  the  feast 
food  was  offered  her  first.  Nothing  of  importance  took  place  at 
this  meeting. 

On  this  day  in  1901  the  Lodge -maker  went  a  second  time  to  the 
Lodge-maker  of  the  preceding  Sun  Dance  to  obtain  the  secret  bundle 
containing  the  sacred  pipe  and  the  buffalo  chip,  as  on  his  first  visit 
he  did  not  have  sufficient  funds  to  secure  it.  This  bundle  is  always 
kept  by  the  Lodge-maker  until  the  time  of  the  next  ceremony,  when, 
on  the  payment  of  a  considerable  sum,  he  transmits  it  to  the  new 
benefactor  of  the  tribe.  Should  the  bundle  be  lost  it  would  not  be 
possible,  the  Cheyenne  say,  to  have  another  ceremony. 

THE    SECOND    DAY. 

On  that  day  the  Priests'-tipi  is  supposed  to  be  moved  within 
the  camp-circle,  where  certain  preliminary  rites  are  to  be  performed; 
it  is  henceforth  known  as  the  Lone-tipi,  or  rehearsal  tipi,  and  is 
from  this  time  on  supposed  to  be  sacred.  No  one  may  pass  in  front 
of  it,  for  if  he  did  he  would  become  blind.  No  menstruating  woman 
may  pass  by  the  tipi  on  the  windward  side ;  to  do  so  would  cause  her 
own  death  and  the  occupants  of  the  tipi  would  be  poisoned.  The 
meaning  of  the  name  given  the  tipi  of  secret  rites  is  Tipi-by-itself. 
Another  name  is  Tipi-from-which-the-Rebirth-lodge-comes.  It  is  also 
given  the  name  of  the  morning-star  and  is  said  to  be  symbolic  of 
the  hill  from  which,  according  to  the  myth,  the  buffalo  came. 

THE    MORNING   FEAST. 

Early  on  that  day  the  Dew-claw  Rattle  society,  together  with  the 
Lodge-maker,  assembled  in  the  tipi  of  the  daughter  of  Brave-Bear, 
she  being  a  member  of  the  Dew-claw  organization.  There  a  feast 
was  provided,  after  which  the  members  went  to  their  respective  tipis. 


70       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM —ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

THE   LODGE-MAKER   INVITES   THE   PRIEST. 

Toward  noon  the  Lodge-maker,  in  his  own  tipi,  painted  himself 
from  head  to  foot  with  red  paint,  wrapped  a  buffalo  robe  about  his 
body,  and  taking  a  pipe  in  his  hand  made  the  circuit  of  the  camp- 
circle  four  times.  He  entered  the  circle  on  the  west  side  and  directed 
his  course  toward  the  north,  continuing  his  journey  by  way  of  the 
east,  south,  and  west,  completing  his  journey  again  at  the  west  after 


FIG.  7.     The  Lodge-maker  inviting  priests. 

he  had  circled  the  camp  four  times.  (See  Fig.  7.)  As  he  made  his 
journey  he  entered  the  tipi  of  each  man  who  had  ever  pledged  the 
Sun  Dance,  even  entering  the  tipis  of  the  families  where  a  former 
member  had  been  a  Lodge-maker.  On  entering  the  tipi  he  said, 
"My  friend,  I  have  come  after  you";  this  constituted  an  invitation 
on  the  part  of  the  Lodge-maker  to  the  former  priest  to  take  part 
in  the  forthcoming  ceremony,  and  at  the  same  time  was  a  notifica 
tion  that  the  Priests'-tipi  was  ready. 

THE   CHEYENNE   AND   ARAPAHO   SOCIAL   DANCE. 

In  the  mean  time,  certain  Cheyenne  and  Arapaho  from  Washita 
were  holding  a  dance  of  a  social  nature,  called  the  Omaha  dance, 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   XXIII. 


XI  1.1    a 
8.  o.  io. 


PL.  XXIII.    CHEYENNE  AND  ARAPAHO  SOCIAL  DANCE. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


which  was  made 
the  occasion  for 
the  display  of 
good  feeling  and 
the  exchange  of 
a  large  number 
of  presents.  (See 
PI.  XXIII.  and 
Figs.  8,  9,  10.) 

THE  OFFICE  OF 
CRIER. 


FIG.  8.     Social  dance. 


After    the 
Lodge-m  aker 

had  completed  the  circuit  he  went  to  the  Priests'-tipi,  still  covered  with 
red  paint  and  wearing  his  buffalo  robe.  There  were  then  present  in  the 
tipi  the  Lodge-maker, Porcupine  Sioux,  and  Blue,  who  had  already  been 


FIG.  9.     Spectau 


it  social  dance. 


FIG.  10.     War-bonnets  exposed  to  sun. 


notified  that  he  was  desired  to  act  as  Chief  Priest.  A  young  man  by  the 
name  of  Bull-Tongue  entered  the  tipi  and  made  a  present  to  the  Lodge- 
maker,  and  asked  that  he  be  permitted  to  act  as  crier  during  the 
ceremony.*  After  informal  smoking  the  three  returned  to  their  tipis. 

*This  privilege  is  gained  only  at  this  and  similar  performances,  and  the  privilege  of  appoint 
ing  a  crier  or  conveying  the  right  to  act  as  crier  rests  with  the  Lodge-maker.  With  his  acceptance 
of  Bull-Tongue's  present  he  may  serve  as  crier  in  any  ceremony:  it  will,  however,  be  necessary 
for  him  to  serve  as  crier  on  three  additional  Sun  Dances  before  he  is  recognized  as  crier  for  the 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


THE   LONE-TIPI. 

Shortly  after  the  event  just  noted  several  women,  wives  of  mem 
bers  of  the  Dew-claw  Rattle  society,  went  to  the  Priests'-tipi.     They 

at  once  loosened  the  tipi  pegs 
and  each  one  grasped  one  of 
the  poles  and  in  unison  they 
lifted  the  tipi  and  carried  it 
forward  (see  Fig.  n)  about 
twenty  yards  within  the 
camp-circle  toward  the  cen 
ter.  Here  they  rested  the 
poles  on  the  ground,  re 
adjusted  the  tipi  covering, 
and  made  it  fast  by  means  of 
pegs.  (PL  XXIV.)  'All  left  for 
their  tipis,  except  the  wife  of 
the  Lodge-maker,  who,  with 
Bull-Tongue,  the  newly  ap 
pointed  Crier  and  a  Lodge- 
maker  on  a  former  occasion, 
entered  the  Lone-tipi. 


FIG.  ii.     Women  removing  Warriors'-tipi. 


THE  BARREX  EARTH. 

The  Lodge-maker's  wife  carried  a  hoe,  and  she  was  instructed 
by  Bull-Tongue  how  she  should  clear  the  grass  and  stubble  from 
the  inside  of  the  tipi. 
(See  Fig.  12.)  She 
cleared  away  the  grass, 
exposing  the  bare  earth, 
in  a  circular  space 
within  the  tipi.  Around 
the  border  of  the  tipi 
to  a  breadth  of  about 
three  feet  the  grass  was 
allowed  to  remain. 
Upon  the  grass  she 
spread  fresh  sage  and 
over  the  sage  blankets 
for  the  priests  to  sit 
upon  when  in  the  tipi.  FIG.  12.  The  cleared  earth  in  the  Lone-tipi. 


tribe.     Thus  he  becomes  a  tribal  benefactor  and  has  much  influence;  and  his  opinions  are  held  in 
great  respect. 


PL.  XXIV.    THE  LONE-TIPI.    (CARPENTER.) 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


73 


THE  ASSEMBLING  OF  THE  LONE-TIPI  PRIEST. 

Shortly  after  this,  and  still  early  in  the  afternoon,  the  Lodge- 
maker  left  his  tipi  and  went  to  the  Lone-tipi,  where  he  was  joined 
by  several  former  Sun  Dance 
priests.  (See  Fig.  13.)  Among 
those  first  arriving  were  Blue,  the 
Chief  Priest,  and  Bull-Tongue, 
who  had  already  purchased  the 
office  of  Crier.  They  began  to 
smoke  informally,  and  in  the  mean 
time  other  priests  entered  the  tipi. 
There  were  then  present,  sitting  in 
a  circle  about  the  tipi,  and  begin 
ning  at  the  side  east  of  the  door, 
the  following:  Bull-Tongue,  Lone- 
Wolf,  the  Lodge-maker,  the  Chief 
Priest,  Porcupine  Sioux,  who  had 
been  selected  by  Blue  as  assistant 
Chief  Priest,  Mud-Man,  Red-Cloud, 
Black-Man,  Deafy,  Cedar-Tree, 
Good-Bear,  Blow-Away,  Little- 
Hawk,  and  Turtle-following-his- 


FIG.  i 


A  priest  on  his  way  to  the 
Lone-tipi. 


Wife.   The  Lodge-maker,  the  Chief 

Priest,  and  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  sat  at  the  east  side  of  the  tipi, 

and  had  the  cleared  space  in  front  of  and  on  the  west  of  them. 

THE  PIPE  TAMPER  AND  CLEANER. 

While  the  priests  were  smoking  informally  the  assistant  Chief 
Priest  took  up  the  dog-wood  sticks,  which  had  been  brought  into 
the  tipi  by  Little-Hawk,  decorticated  them,  cut  them  of  equal  length, 
and  fashioned  them  into  pipe  tampers.  When  he  had  concluded, 
he  placed  them  on  the  cleared  space  by  the  side  of  the  sacred 
bundle,  which  had  been  brought  into  the  tipi  by  the  Lodge-maker. 
Presently,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  Chief  Priest,  the  Lodge-maker 
plucked  from  his  buffalo  robe  several  bits  of  wool,  which  he  passed 
to  the  assistant  Chief  Priest.  The  Lodge-maker  passed  in  front  of 
the  assistant  Chief  Priest  and  knelt  down  in  front  of  the  Chief 
Priest,  closed  his  eyes,  turned  away  his  head,  and  extended  the  palms 
of  his  hands  in  front  of  the  face  of  the  Chief  Priest.  The  Chief 
Priest  touched  his  finger  to  the  ground,  put  it  to  his  tongue,  took  a 


74       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

bite  of  root  and  spat*  in  the  palms  of  the  Lodge-maker's  hands  five 
times,  first  at  the  southeast,  then  at  the  southwest,  the  northwest, 
the  northeast,  and  in  the  center.  The  Lodge-maker  rubbed  his  hands 
together  and  passed  them  down  over  his  head  and  body. 

This  peculiar  rite,  of  "medicine"  nature,  bears  the  same  name 
as  the  traditional  prophet  who  gave  the  medicine  arrows,  or  tribal 
medicine,  to  the  Cheyenne.  It  is  called  "throwing-it-at-him,"  and 
is  symbolic  of  the  Chief  Priest  throwing  or  bestowing  upon  the  Lodge- 
maker  the  world  and  growth,  and  hence  long  life.  The  rite  is  also 
said  to  represent  all  the  growth  of  the  earth  which  is  sweet,  and  hence 
the  Lodge-maker  is  said  to  have  received  the  "sweet-medicine." 
The  touching  of  the  ground  by  the  Priest  expresses  the  desire  that 
the  earth  should  bring  forth  water.  In  ejecting  spittle  five  times 
recognition  is  made  of  the  four  medicine  spirits  or  living  worlds 
and  of  the  sun.  In  the  performance  of  this  rite  the  recipient  always 
turns  away  his  head  in  order  that  none  of  the  spittle  may  strike  his 
face,  or,  especially,  get  into  his  eyes,  as  this,  it  is  believed,  would 
cause  blindness. 

With  the  aid  of  and  under  the  direction  of  the  Chief  Priest,  the  - 
Lodge-maker  took  up  one  of  the  two  dog-wood  sticks,  or  tampers, 
and  wound  the  buffalo  wool  around  the  smaller  end  of  it.  This 
stick  was  now  symbolic  of  the  buffalo,  and  consequently  of  people 
who  live  on  buffalo  meat.  In  using  the  tampers  the  plain  stick 
is  first  put  on  the  earth,  or  first  used;  then  the  stick  with  the  buffalo 
wool.  This  wrapped  stick  is  not  so  much  a  tamper  as  it  is  a  cleaner 
to  clean  or  purify  the  pipe  or  person,  so  that  the  buffalo  will  nourish 
the  body.f 

THE  FIRST  EARTH. 

The  pipe,  of  ordinary  shape  and  red  in  color,  which  the  Lodge- 
maker  had  brought  with  him  into  the  tipi,  wa,s  placed  on  the  cleared 
space  in  front  of  himself  and  the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  the  bowl 
of  the  pipe  projecting  toward  the  center  of  the  space.  The  two  pipe 
tampers  were  laid  parallel  to  the  pipe  and  on  the  side  of  the  cleared 
space  toward  the  center.  The  Lodge-maker  knelt  by  the  side  of 
the  Chief  Priest,  who  with  his  right  hand  grasped  the  right  hand 
of  the  Lodge-maker  and  caused  his  outstretched  thumb  to  be  directed 
four  times  toward  the  ground  just  beyond  the  two  pipe  tampers, 
and  then  four  times  to  the  center.  Then,  holding  his  hand  in  the 

*By  this  term,  as  in  the  Arapaho  cermony,  it  must  be  understod  that  the  amount  of  spittle 
ejected  upon  his  hands  was  almost  infinitesimal,  the  act  being  performed  by  the  tongue  thrust 
slightly  forward  between  the  lips. 

tNew  pipe  cleaners.it  may  here  be  noted,  will  be  made  with  each  new  earth,  for  they  cannot 
carry  the  earth  away  to  another  place,  nor  the  earth's  growth,  nor  as  a  consequence  the  sticks. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


75 


same  way,  the  Chief  Priest  caused  the  Lodge-maker's  thumb  to 
describe  a  small  circle  just  above  the  ground.*  He  then  caused 
the  Lodge-maker's  thumb  to  touch  the  ground  and  rub  the  earth 
in  a  circular  motion,  thus  smoothing  a  space  about  an  inch  in  diam 
eter.  The  Chief  Priest  enlarged  this  little  circle  to  about  twice  its 
size,  and  thus  was  formed  the  first,  or  new  life  "earth,"  which  marks 
the  beginning  of  vegetation.  This  "earth,"  the  first  one  made,  is 
said  to  be  small  because  not  much  is  known  of  it.  Its  proper  size 
is  said  to  be  the  length  of  the  thumb  to  the  longest  finger.  The 
thumb  is  used  in  the  rite  because  it  is  the  strongest  finger. 

SMOKING  THE   RED  PIPE. 

Bull-Tongue  left  the  lodge  and  returned  in  a  few  minutes  with 
a  shovel  of  live  coals,  one  of  which  he  placed  in  the  center  of  the 
cleared  space.  The  posi 
tion  of  the  chief  partici 
pants  in  the  tipi  at  this 
time  and  their  relation  to 
the  pipe,  etc.,  may  be  seen 
from  the  accompanying 
diagram  (see  Fig.  14). 
The  Chief  Priest  leaned 
forward  and  picked  up 
the  pipe  and  lit  it  from 
the  coal.  After  the  pipe 
was  thoroughly  lighted  he 
directed  the  point  of  the 
stem  toward  the  diminu 
tive  circle  of  earth.  He 
passed  the  pipe  to  the 
Lodge-maker,  who  also  Fl(;  I4  Diagram  of  L0ne-npi. 

directed  the  point  of  the 

stem  to  the  "earth"  and  then  smoked  while  Bull-Tongue  emptied  the 
remaining  coals  from  the  shovel  in  the  center,  where  the  first  coal  had 
been  deposited.  The  pipe  was  passed  around  the  circle,  each  one 
directing  its  stem  toward  the  earth  before  beginning  to  smoke. 

After  all  had  smoked,  the  pipe  was  passed  back  unsmoked  around 
the  circle  to  the  Chief  Priest,  who  directed  the  stem  to  the  earth. 
He  removed  the  stem  from  the  bowl,  and  taking  up  the  plain  tamper, 
loosened  the  ashes  and  deposited  them  in  the  center  of  the  earth. 

*It  is  assumed  that  in  making  the  first  four  passes,  one  was  made  for  each  of  the  cardinal 
points,  or  medicine  spirits,  beginning  with  the  southeast;  the  next  four  passes  to  the  center  was 
for  the  sun  and  the  circular  motion  was  for  all  spirits. 


76       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

Next  he  cleansed  the  pipe  with  the  tamper  wrapped  with  buffalo 
wool.  He  inserted  the  stem,  pointed  the  stem  toward  the  earth, 
and  passed  each  hand  twice  down  the  stem,  touching  the  ground 
with  the  hand  each  time.  He  touched  his  finger  to  the  ground, 
took  a  bite  of  root,  and  spat  upon  the  hands  of  the  Lodge-maker 
five  times,  as  before,  whereupon  the  Lodge-maker  grasped  the  pipe 
held  by  the  Chief  Priest  and  four  times  simulated  receiving  the 
pipe,  taking  it  from  him  the  fifth  time.  He  applied  his  lips  to  the 
empty  pipe  four  times  and  deposited  it  in  front  of  him  on  the  cleared 
space.  The  Chief  Priest  then  took  up  the  pipe  and  filled  it  without 
ceremony,  tamping  the  tobacco  down  with  the  plain  tamper,  and 
put  the  pipe  back  in  its  place. 

FILLING  THE  SACRED  PIPE. 

After  a  few  moments'  pause  the  Chief  Priest  touched  his  finger 
to  the  ground,  took  a  bite  of  root,  and  spat  five  times  in  the  hands 
of  the  assistant  Chief  Priest.  The  latter  now  reversed  the  pipe  so 
that  the  stem  pointed  toward  the  west  (heretofore  it  had  been 
pointed  toward  the  east),  and  placed  it  in  front  of  the  sacred  bundle, 
hitherto  lying  west  of  the  pipe,  and  which  had  been  brought  into 
the  lodge  by  Little-Hawk,  the  Lodge-maker,  while  the  priests  were 
assembling.*  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  carefully  took  up  the 
bundle,  opened  it,  and  took  from  it  a  buffalo  chip,  a  piece  of  sinew, 
and  some  braided  sweet- 
grass.  Next  he  carefully 
removed  a  pipe  with 
straight  black  stone  bowl 
and  round  stem.  (See  Fig. 
15.)  He  made  five  passes 
with  the  pipe  toward  the 
ground  and  laid  it  down 
just  behind  the  bundle. 
He  tied  up  the  bundle  and 
passed  it  to  the  Chief 
Priest,  who  deposited  it  in 
front  of  Big-Baby.  The 
assistant  Chief  Priest  took  FlG  I5  Sacred  pipe 

the  piece   of   sinew  which 

had  been  removed  from  the  bundle  and  tore  from  it  five  shreds  or  fibers. 
Big-Baby  prepared  the  hands  of  the  Lodge-maker  after  the  usual 


*The  owner  of  the  bundle  is  Red-Bead,  a  chief.      His  wife  is  the  keeper  or  guardian  of  the 
bundle. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  77 

fashion  ("threw  it  on  him"),  whereupon  the  Lodge-maker  extended  his 
left  hand,  palm  upward,  in  front  of  the  assistant  Chief  Priest.  The 
latter  grasped  with  his  right  hand  the  right  hand  of  the  Lodge- 
maker  and  directed  it  toward  the  sinew.  At  the  second  pass  the 
Lodge-maker  picked  up  one  of  the  pieces  of  sinew  and  laid  it  across 
the  palm  of  his  left  hand,  the  movement  being  guided  by  the  hand 
of  the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  who  continued  his  grasp  of  the  Lodge- 
maker's  right  hand.  In  this  manner  the  five  pieces  of  sinew  were 
picked  up  and  placed  in  the  palm  of  his  left  hand,  the  following 
disposition  being  made  of  them:  First,  one  toward  the  tip  of  his 
fingers,  then  one  toward  the  base  of  his  hand,  another  toward  the 
tip  of  his  fingers,  but  inside  the  first  one;  the  fourth  one  toward 
the  base,  but  inside  the  second  one.  Thus  there  was  an  open  space 
between  these  two  pairs.  The  fifth  sinew  was  placed  in  this  space, 
equidistant  from  the  two  pairs.  Continuing  to  direct  the  move 
ment  of  the  Lodge-maker,  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  caused  his 
right  hand  to  be  guided  to  the  outer  side  of  his  left  hand,  where 
five  passes  were  made  and  the  sinews  were  doubled  over  by  bringing 
them  forward  one  at  a  time,  after  which  he  slowly  closed  his  hands. 
Then  the  Lodge-maker,  under  the  assistant  Chief  Priest's  guidance, 
rolled  the  sinew  with  his  thumb  into  a  tiny  pellet.  The  large  piece 
of  sinew  from  which  these  five  fibers  had  been  taken  was  then  placed 
on  the  bundle.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  made  five  passes  toward 
the  bowl  of  the  pipe,  picked  it  up,  held  it  in  front  of  him,  and  cleaned 
it  with  the  tamper,  the  Lodge-maker  holding  the  sinew  in  his  right 
hand.  Then  the  sinew,  representing  the  buffalo  which  nourishes 
the  people,  was  put  in  and  pressed  half-way  down  with  the  plain 
tamper.  Then,  upon  this,  a  little  pellet  of  sweet-grass  was  placed 
in  the  pipe  by  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  and  he  returned  the  bowl 
to  its  accustomed  position  on  the  cleared  space. 

The  assistant  Chief  Priest  with  both  hands  took  up  the  tobacco 
bag,  which  he  passed  to  the  Lodge-maker.  The  latter  gathered 
about  himself  his  buffalo  robe,  and  taking  the  corner  of  it,  spread 
it  out  at  his  left  hand,  and  upon  this  placed  two  pinches  of  tobacco 
which  he  took  from  the  bag.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  made  five 
motions  toward  the  bowl  and  picked  it  up.  He  took  the  right  hand 
of  the  Lodge-maker  in  his  and  made  a  circular  motion  signify 
ing  the  round  earth  or  whole  world,  and  four  passes  toward  the 
tobacco.  At  the  fifth  movement  the  Lodge-maker  took  a  pinch  of 
the  tobacco,  circled  it  over  the  bowl,  and  moved  five  times  toward 
the  bowl  and  dropped  the  tobacco  in.  He  again  circled  his  hand 
over  the  tobacco  once  and  toward  it  four  times,  took  up  another 


78       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

pinch  of  tobacco,  again  circled  his  fingers  over  the  bowl  and  motioned 
toward  it  four  times.  In  this  manner  five  pinches  of  tobacco  were 
dropped  into  the  bowl,  the  first  pinch  being  placed  in  the  pipe  on 
the  northeast  side,  the  next  one  on  the  southeast  side,  next  on  the 
southwest  side,  next  on  the  northwest  side,  the  fifth  pinch  being 
added  in  the  center  of  the  bowl. 

The  assistant  Chief  Priest  again  grasped  the  right  hand  of  the 
Lodge-maker  with  his  own  right  hand  and  caused  him  to  make  a 
circular  motion  over  the  tamper,  and  four  movements  toward  it, 
and  then  caused  him  to  pick  it  up  and  press  down  the  tobacco.  They 
then  went  through  the  same  motions,  this' time  using  the  left  hand. 
The  assistant  Chief  Priest  finished  filling  the  pipe  without  formality. 
Bull-Tongue  then  took  up  a  piece  of  tallow  and  handed  it  to  the 
Lodge-maker.  The  latter  received  the  pipe  from  the  assistant  Chief 
Priest  and  covered  the  upper  or  exposed  surface  of  the  tobacco 
at  the  mouth  of  the  pipe  with  the  tallow.  He  handed  the  pipe  to 
the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  who  grasped  it  with  both  hands,  advanced 
four  steps  and  deposited  it  on  the  cleared  space,  near  to  and  directed 
toward  the  buffalo  chip,  a  short  distance  from  the  stem.  The  Chief 
Priest  plucked  a  pinch  of  wool  from  his  buffalo  robe  and  deposited 
it  by  the  pipe  stem,  gathered  his  robe  around  him,  and  resumed 
his  seat.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  took  the  hand  of  the  Lodge- 
maker,  and  with  the  customary  five  passes  caused  him  to  take  the 
wool  and  wrap  it  around  the  end  of  the  pipe-stem.  He  then  rubbed 
the  wool  with  tallow.  Thus  wrapped,  the  stem  would  fit  into  the 
end  of  the  pipe  more  tightly.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  with  both 
hands  took  the  two  hands  of  the  Lodge-maker  and  moved  them 
toward  the  bowl,  which  the  Lodge-maker  picked  up  and  moved 
toward  the  stem,  halting  three  times.  The  fourth  time  he  slipped 
the  bowl  upon  the  stem,  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  making  it  secure. 

PAINTING  THE  SACRED  PIPE. 

The  Chief  Priest  gave  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  the  piece  of 
braided  sweet-grass  from  the  bundle.  Bull-Tongue  took  a  live  coal 
and  placed  it  in  the  center  of  the  cleared  space.  The  assistant 
Chief  Priest  took  up  the  piece  of  sweet-grass  and  tore  off  five  shreds, 
which  he  placed  in  front  of  himself.  He  took  up  the  sack  of  red 
earth,  and  placed  it  in  front  of  the  Lodge-maker.  He  took  the  hand 
of  the  Lodge-maker  and  caused  him  to  pick  up  the  five  pieces  of  grass 
just  as  he  had  picked  up  the  sinews.  Before  each  piece  was  picked 
up  he  made  the  usual  five  passes,  and  before  he  deposited  each  piece 
five  passes  were  made  toward  his  hand.  The  grasses  were  laid  on 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  79 

the  Lodge-maker's  left  hand,  his  palm  being  directed  upward,  the 
same  relative  positions  being  maintained  as  with  the  sinews.  The 
assistant  Chief  Priest,  still  guiding  the  movement  of  the  Lodge- 
maker's  right  hand,  caused  him  to  take  up  the  grasses  one  by  one 
by  the  outer  ends  and  bring  them  around  and  put  them  under  the 
others,  making  five  passes  before  each  movement.  Then  the  Lodge- 
maker  was  directed,  as  before,  to  roll  the  grass  into  a  little  ball. 

The  assistant  Chief  Priest  cut  off  a  small  piece  of  tallow,  which 
he  placed  to  the  right  of  the  bag  of  red  paint.  The  Lodge-maker, 
accompanied  by  the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  who  guided  his  right 
hand,  the  movement  being  the  same  as  before  and  with  the  cus 
tomary  five  passes,  took  a  pinch  of  paint  from  the  bag  and  mixed  it 
with  the  tallow.  Again  he  mixed  some  red  paint  and  tallow.  The 
assistant  Chief  Priest  then  handed  the  sacred  pipe  to  the  Chief  Priest, 
who  on  the  corner  of  the  back  of  his  buffalo  robe  wiped  it  carefully 
four  times,  thus  purifying  the  pipe,  or  person,  as  it  may  be  consid 
ered,  of  all  impurities,  and  returned  it  to  his  assistant,  who  held  it 
upright  by  the  side  of  the  Lodge-maker.  The  Lodge-maker,  having 
rubbed  the  red  paint  tallow  thoroughly  between  his  palms,  rubbed 
his  right  hand  up  the  stem  twice  and  his  left  hand  twice.  He  grasped 
the  stem  firmly  near  the  base  with  both  hands  and  gave  them  a 
circular  motion,  thus  painting  the  stem  red.  He  then  moved  up 
the  stem  the  distance  of  his  two  hands  and  again  rubbed  the  stem 
with  a  circular  motion.  Thus  by  four  movements  in  all  he  com 
pletely  painted  the  stem  and  bowl,  and  the  pipe  or  person  was  ready 
for  the  "new  world."*  Next  he  pressed  his  thumb  upon  the  end 
or  rim  of  the  bowl,  then  upon  the  tallow-coated  charge  of  tobacco. 
The  assistant  Chief  Priest,  without  formality,  replaced  the  pipe  on 
the  cleared  ground  and  handed  the  tamper  to  the  Lodge-maker, 
who  drew  it  back  and  forth  through  his  hands,  painting  it  red.  He 
returned  it  to  the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  who  replaced  it.  The  Chief 
Priest  handed  to  the  Lodge-maker  the  five  tying  strings  of  the  bundle, 
which  he  drew  through  his  hands,  painting  them  red,  and  then  he 
handed  them  back  to  the  Chief  Priest,  who  placed  them  in  a  pile 
in  front  of  himself. 

THE  SECOND  EARTH. 

It  was  then  time  to  form  a  new  "earth."  The  assistant  Chief 
Priest  with  his  right  hand  seized  the  right  hand,  palm  downward, 
of  the  Lodge-maker  and  directed  it  toward  the  ground  in  a  circular 

*It  was  also  symbolic  of  the  fact  that  all  had  eaten  buffalo,  and  hence  should  rise  up.  grow 
and  increase. 


So       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

motion,  for  the  round  world,  and  then  four  times  for  the  four  direc 
tions,  and  rocked  his  hand  back  and  forth  and  with  the  under  side 
of  his  wrist  rubbed  a  small  circular  space  upon  the  ground,  which 
the  assistant  Chief  Priest  enlarged.  The  Chief  Priest  plucked  some 
wool  from  his  robe,  rolled  it  into  a  ball,  and  placed  it  upon  this  new 
formed  earth.* 

PAINTING  THE  CRIER. 

The  Lodge-maker  now  sat  as  number  two  in  the  circle,  that  is, 
next  to  Bull-Tongue,  near  the  door.  Objects  not  required  were 
taken  up  and  by  the  Chief  Priest  replaced  in  the  bundle,  which 
was  then  tied  up.  Bull-Tongue  disrobed.  The  Chief  Priest  and  the 
assistant  Chief  Priest  besmeared  their  hands  with  red  paint,  break 
ing  off  a  piece  from  the  ball  of  paint  which  had  been  mixed  with 
tallow,  and  painted  their  faces,  hair,  and  moccasins  and  passed  the 
ball  of  paint  to  the  others  in  the  circle,  who  also  painted  them 
selves.  Bull-Tongue  then  received  the  ball  of  paint.  He  took  up 
the  piece  of  braided  sweet-grass,  broke  off  two  stems,  and  put  them 
in  front  of  himself.  A  buffalo  robe  was  passed  to  him,  which  he 
wrapped  over  his  shoulder,  but  not  being  quite  ready  for  it,  he 
removed  it  and  obtained  a  live  coal  from  the  pile  of  coals  in  the 
center  of  the  cleared  space  and  placed  it  in  front  of  him.  He  then 
made  five  passes  toward  the  ball  of  red  paint  and  broke  from  it  a 
small  pinch,  which  he  placed  in  his  left  hand.  He  made  five  passes 
toward  the  sweet-grass,  picked  it  up  and  deposited  it  on  the  coal. 
He  next  extended  his  hands  in  front  of  his  body  and  held  them 
over  the  rising  incense,  palms  together,  and  his  right  hand  upper 
most.  He  turned  his  hands  so  that  the  left  hand  was  uppermost ; 
again  he  turned  them  and  held  the  right  hand  uppermost;  again 
with  the  left  hand  uppermost.  He  turned  his  hands  so  that  the 
palms  were  perpendicular  and  held  them  in  this  position  for  a  few 
seconds.  He  then  rubbed  the  palms  together  and  touched  him 
self  lightly  at  four  different  places,  beginning  with  his  feet  and  pass 
ing  toward  his  head.  He  then  painted  his  face,  hair,  arms,  breast, 
legs,  feet,  belly,  and  back.  He  put  on  the  buffalo  robe,  gathered  it 
around  himself  with  the  hair  side  out,  being  careful  to  so  adjust 
the  robe  that  the  head  was  directed  to  his  right  side.  He  placed 
the  second  piece  of  sweet-grass  on  the  coal,  held  his  right  hand  over 
the  rising  smoke,  and  placed  it  on  his  head.  He  did  this  with  his 
left  hand.  He  gathered  the  robe  tightly  around  himself,  squatted 

*This,  the  second  "earth,"  is  spoken  of  as  a  "wallow."  The  rocking  movement  of  the  hand 
mitated  a  buffalo  wallowing.  Inasmuch  as  people  live  on  the  buffalo,  they  go  through  this  rite 
to  renew  their  bodies.  Hence  also  people  wallow  like  a  buffalo  and  feel  good.  It  should  be  noted 
that  this  "wallow"  or  earth  was  larger  than  the  one  first  made. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  81 

down  over  the  coal  in  such  a  manner  that  the  incense  passed  within 
the  robe  and  over  his  body.      He  then  put  on  his  moccasins. 

In  thurifying  the  paint  over  the  smoke  Bull-Tongue  made  the 
motions  with  the  palm  of  his  hands  to  represent  or  invoke  the  notice 
of  the  medicine  spirits  of  the  east,  south,  west,  north,  and  the  sun. 
The  paint  is  symbolic  of  the  earth,  as  the  tallow  is  of  the  food  of 
the  earth,  or  life,  and  as  the  sweet-grass  is  of  growth  in  general. 
The  whole  rite  of  painting  is  preparatory  to  the  announcement  he 
is  about  to  make,  which  bears  upon  the  drama  of  the  growth  of  the 
earth. 

THE  ANNOUNCEMENT. 

Up  to  that  time,  no  special  notice  had  been  taken  in  the  camp 
of  the  fact  that  secret  rites  were  taking  place  in  the  Lone-tipi;  as  a 
consequence  the  drums  and  singing  of  the  warrior  societies  here 
and  there  throughout  the  circle  could  be  heard,  as  well  as  the  noise 
made  by  the  children  at  play.  The  Lodge-maker  arose  and  went 
outside  and  asked  that  quiet  be  kept  by  all  and  that  the  members 
of  the  societies  stop  drumming  and  singing.  In  making  this  request 
he  pitched  his  voice  as  he  would  in  a  prayer. 

Big-Baby  addressed  Bull-Tongue  in  a  low  voice,  but  simulating 
that  of  a  Crier,  and  told  Bull-Tongue  what  he  should  say.  Then 
Bull-Tongue  left  the  tipi  and  started  out  through  the  camp  and 
continued  on  toward  the  east,  north,  and  on  around  the  entire  camp- 
circle,  crying  in  a  loud  voice  as  follows: 

"Sand-hill-Men!  Sand-hill-Men!  Young  Sand-hill-Men!  Young 
Sand-hill-Men! 

"  Sutayo  Band!  Sutayo  Band!  Young  Sutayo  Band!  Young 
Sutayo  Band! 

li  Big-Lodge-Men!  Big-Lodge-Men!  Big-Lodge  Young  Men!  Big- 
Lodge  Young  Men! 

"  Notiswahiswisti !  Notiswahiswisti !  Young  Notiswahiswisti ! 
Young  Notiswahiswisti! 

"  Little-Hawk  (Lodge-maker)  has  taken  pity  on  you !  Little-Hawk 
has  taken  pity  on  you!  Little-Hawk  has  taken  pity  on  you! 

"  He  gives  you  notice  that  he  gives  his  wife  up  to  the  sacred  lodge. 
He  takes  this  opportunity  to  announce  to  you  this  great  act  of  his." 

During  the  time  of  the  announcement  absolute  silence,  so  far 
as  possible,  was  maintained,  for  the  announcement  was  one  of  the 
most  solemn  episodes  of  the  ceremony. 


82       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

SACRIFICE  OF  FOOD  AND  THE  FEAST. 

By  the  time  the  Crier  returned,  the  Lodge-maker's  wife  had 
sent  to  the  entrance  of  the  tipi  many  vessels  of  food  for  the  evening 
feast.  The  Chief  Priest  took  up  a  piece  of  meat  and  tore  off  a  small 
piece.  The  root  was  passed  to  him.  He  touched  his  finger  to  the 
ground,  put  it  to  his  tongue,  took  a  bite  of  root,  spat  five  times 
upon  the  meat  and  gave  it  to  the  Lodge-maker.  The  latter  arose, 
motioned  the  meat  aloft  once  and  to  the  east  four  times  and  de 
posited  it  on  the  ground  under  the  sacred  pipe.  He  rubbed  his 
hand  over  his  head  and  resumed  his  place  in  the  circle.  Thus  he 
sacrificed  food  to  the  earth,  sun,  and  four  medicine  spirits.  Food 
was  passed  to  all  the  members  of  the  tipi  and  eaten  without  cere 
mony.  The  Chief  Priest  took  the  sacred  pipe,  lighted  it,  offered 
the  stem  to  the  earth,  and  passed  the  pipe  to  the  Lodge-maker,  thus 
blessing  the  Lodge-maker,  and  through  him,  for  he  represents  all 
people,  every  one.*  After  the  Lodge-maker  had  smoked,  the  pipe 
was  passed  sunwise  about  the  circle,  each  taking  a  few  whiffs.  It 
was  passed  back  unsmoked  to  the  Chief  Priest,  who  cleaned  the  pipe 
and  replaced  it  on  the  ground. 

After  the  feast  and  the  formal  smoke,  the  priests  retired  to  their 
tipis  to  remain  during  the  night,  except  the  Lodge-maker  and  the 
Chief  Priest,  who  slept  in  the  Lone-tipi  during  this  and  the  following 
night. 

EVENTS   OUTSIDE   THE   LONE-TIPI. 

During  the  day  no  public  rites  were  performed.  There  was  much 
feasting  and  formal  visiting  among  the  various  warrior  organiza 
tions,  along  with  a  morning  feast  at  which  many  presents  were 
given  away. 

THE  SPY  FOR  THE  CENTER-POLE. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  fact  that  Three-Fingers,  a  priest 
and  chief,  had  been  requested  to  examine  the  near-by  timber  and 
select  a  suitable  cottonwood-tree  to  serve  as  the  main  or  center- 
pole  of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge.  This  Three-Fingers  did  on  the  morn 
ing  of  this  day,  but  his  act  was  one  of  convenience  rather  than  cere 
mony,  f  In  1901,  however,  on  this  night,  the  Lodge-maker  carried 

*Thus  he  gave  to  all  the  world  a  blessing,  and  so  all  will  grow  strong  and  live  in  the  midst  of 
abundance. 

•jThe  formal  and  ceremonial  location  of  the  center-pole  by  ciistom  falls  to  the  lot  of  a  Chey 
enne  who  has  had  the  distinction  when  acting  as  a  spy  of  striking  an  enemy  inside  his  tipi.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  there  were  but  two  Cheyenne  living  who  could  lay  claim  to  this  distinction, 
Wolf-Face  and  Mad-Robe.  These  men  were  very  old  and  the  formal  rite  of  spying  the  pole  was 
omitted  in  1903. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  83 

a  pipe  to  Wolf-Face,  which  he  accepted,  thus  signifying  his  willing 
ness  to  act  as  spy  on  the  following  morning. 

SELECTING  THE  SITE  OF  THE  LODGE. 

Just  at  sundown  Big-Baby,  who  owns  the  rite  by  purchase, 
walked  to  the  center  of  the  camp-circle,  and  after  examining  the 
ground,  selected  a  level  spot  which  he  considered  suitable  for  the 
lodge.  At  the  center  of  this  place  he  set  on  end  a  few  sticks  and  placed 
on  top  of  them  a  bunch  of  grass.  This  marked  the  site  of  the  center- 
pole  of  the  great  lodge. 

THE    THIRD    DAY. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  important  days  of  the  ceremony,  and 
is  crowded  with  events  from  early  morning  until  long  after  mid 
night.  It  includes  the  secret  rites  in  the  Lone-tipi,  such  as  the 
preparation  of  the  objects  which  later  in  the  day  are  to  be  placed 
in  the  fork  of  the  center-pole  of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge,  or  which  on 
the  following  morning  are  to  form  part  of  the  altar  of  that  lodge. 
The  public  performances  are  the  counting  of  coup  by  the  spy  and 
others  on  the  object  representing  the  site  of  the  center-pole,  the 
securing  of  the  raw  material  to  be  used  either  within  the  Lone-tipi 
or  to  form  part  of  the  altar  of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge  to  be  built  on  the 
next  day.  The  warrior  societies  are  busy  during  the  day  bringing 
in  poles  to  be  used  in  the  construction  of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge,  which 
they  partially  construct.  Then  follows  the  formal  and  stately  pro 
cession  of  priests  from  the  Lone-tipi  to  the  Sun  Dance  lodge,  where 
the  poles  are  painted,  the  center-fork  is  erected,  and  the  lodge  is 
completed.  Then  follows  the  dedication  of  the  lodge  by  the  chiefs. 
Later  in  the  evening  there  is  a  rehearsal,  or  the  so-called  "hand 
and  arm"  drill,  which  serves  as  the  formal  introduction  of  those 
who  are  to  dance  in  the  lodge.  Then  follows  the  highly  significant 
performance  of  the  Chief  Priest  and  the  Lodge-maker's  wife,  during 
which  time  the  sacred  song  is  sung  four  times,  followed  by  the  formal 
beginning  of  the  dance  proper,  which  lasts  until  daylight. 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  rites  which,  even  with  haste  on  the  part 
of  the  priests,  fill  this  day  to  overflowing,  occupied,  in  1903,  two 
entire  days.  This  was  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  certain  raw  mate 
rial  had  not  been  provided  on  the  day  preceding  and  in  part  to  the 
fact  that  there  was  a  disinclination  to  hurry,  owing  to  the  great  heat. 
In  the  following  description  of  events  which  properly  belonged  to 
this  dav,  the  acts  of  the  two  davs  are  enumerated  in  the  order  of 


84       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

their  performance  and  under  the  headings  of  the  third  and  fourth 
days,  respectively. 

The  Chief  Priest,  the  Lodge-maker,  and  his  wife  began  fasting 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  previous  day  and  spent  the  night  in  the 
Lone-tipi.  Here  they  were  joined  before  sunrise  by  a  few  of  the 
priests.  We  may  consider  first  the  secret  and  then  the  public  rites 
of  the  day. 

SECRET   RITES   OUTSIDE   THE   LONE-TIPI. 

Before  considering  the  rites  performed  this  morning  by  the  Lone- 
tipi  priests  outside  the  lodge,  it  is  necessary  to  recall  that  in  1901 
Wolf-Face  had  been  chosen  to  spy  out  the  center-pole. 

WOLF-FACE  SELECTS  THE  CENTER-POLE  TREE,   1901. 

On  this  morning,  therefore,  Wolf-Face,  completely  clad  in  buck 
skin,  wearing  a  war  bonnet,  and  mounted  on  a  pony  bearing  his  war- 
medicine  paint,  rode  alone  into  the  timber  and  selected  a  suitable 
tree  for  the  center-pole.  Pausing  before  it,  he  addressed  it  as  he 
would  a  person,  relating  a  war  story  in  which  he  recounted  his  ex 
ploits  against  the  Pawnee.  Then  he  struck  the  tree,  counting  coup 
on  it,  as  if  it  were  an  enemy. 

THE  PRIESTS  SEARCH  FOR  A  LARGER  EARTH. 

Early  in  the  morning  the  Lodge-maker,  the  Chief  Priest,  Big- 
Horse,  Dragon-Otter,  and  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  left  the  Lone- 
tipi  in  the  order  named,  the  Lodge-maker  carrying  in  his  arms  the 
sacred  bundle  and  its  pipe,  and  the  Chief  Priest  a  live  coal.  The 
Lodge-maker  and  Chief  Priest  wore  their  buffalo  robes,  wool  side 
out.  Formerly  the  Lodge-maker  wore  also  a  buffalo-scalp  head-dress ; 
this  is  now  in  possession  of  the  Northern  Cheyenne.  They  slowly 
walked  forward  about  a  hundred  yards  in  front  of  the  tipi,  halting 
four  times,  until  they  came  to  the  place  where  the  Lodge-maker  had 
advanced  from  the  line,  and  deposited  the  bundle  on  the  ground, 
then  they  rejoined  the  priests  and  sat  down  in  line  about  twenty 
feet  behind  the  bundle.* 

The  Lodge-maker  lighted  his  pipe  from  the  coal  which  the  Chief 
Priest  had  carried,  and  after  taking  a  few  whiffs,  passed  it  to  Big 

*On  this  journey  they  look  for  and  make  a  larger  earth.  They  especially  desire  to  know 
more  about  the  earth .  The  stopping  four  times  on  the  way  is  symbolic  of  their  having  traveled 
all  over  this  earth  to  see  it.  This  rite  is  also  compared  to  the  four  movements  which  the  Lodge- 
maker  will  make  on  the  following  night  in  the  Sun  Dance  lodge,  when  he  rests  his  elbow  on  his 
knee  and  waves  the  incense  during  the  singing  of  the  four  sacred  songs.  The  latter  rite,  however, 
is  said  to  be  of  a  higher  order. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


FIG.  16.     Lone-tipi  priest  smoking  sacred  pipe. 


Horse,  next  in  line,  and 
so  the  pipe  was  passed 
on  to  the  Chief  Priest  at 
the  end  of  the  line,  then 
passed  back  unsmoked 
to  the  Lodge-maker. 
(See  Fig.  16.) 

The  assistant  Chief 
Priest  handed  a  new 
knife  to  the  Chief  Priest 
who  touched  his  finger 
to  the  ground,  put  it  to 
his  tongue,  took  a  bite 
of  root,  and  spat  upon 
the  knife  five  times,  thus 

asking  a  blessing  upon  it  and  rendering  it  harmless.  He  passed  it 
back  to  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  who  began  to  decorticate  two  sticks 
about  eight  inches  in  length  and  fashion  them  into  pipe  tampers. 

The  Lodge-maker  now  sent  back  to  the  camp-circle  and  asked 
his  wife  to  bring  water  and  additional  live  coals.  This  she  did,  plac 
ing  a  bucket  of  water  in  front  of  the  Chief  Priest,  who  took  a  bite  of 
root  and  spat  upon  the  water  four  times.  She  then  took  a  drink  and 
handed  the  bucket  to  her  husband  who  drank.  The  latter  then  held 
the  bucket  to  the  lips  of  the  Chief  Priest  in  one  hand,  placing  his 
other  hand  on  the  Chief  Priest's  head.* 

The  empty  pipe  was  taken  up  by  the  Lodge-maker,  filled,  lighted 
from  the  fresh  coals,  and  smoked  by  the  men  in  the  line  as  before, 
passed  back  unsmoked  and  cleaned  by  the  Chief  Priest  and  laid 
down  in  front  of  the  Lodge-maker.  Bull-Tongue  joined  the  priests 

and  took  a  place  beyond  the  Chief 
Priests  at  the  end  of  the  line. 

THE  THIRD  EARTH. 
The  Chief  Priest  cleared  a  small 
circular  area  about  two  feet  in 
diameter  in  front  of  him.  (See  Fig. 
17.)  The  pipe  was  passed  to  him 
and  placed  on  the  western  edge  of 

The  Chief  Priest  preparing  to    this  cleared  space,  the  stem  pointing 
form  the  earth.  toward  the  south,  the  bowl  upward. 

*It  will  be  remembered  that  the  Lodge-maker,  his  wife,  and  the  Chief  Priest  began  feasting 
on  the  night  before.  They  were  not  supposed  to  drink  until  the  following  night.  Drinking  water 
at  this  time  therefore,  was  irregular,  and  required  that  the  water  first  be  purified. 


FIG.  17. 


86 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


The  two  sticks  which  he  had  decorticated  and  fashioned  into 
tampers  were  placed  by  the  side  of  the  pipe.  The  Lodge -maker 
offered  a  short  prayer.  After  this  he  plucked  some  wool  from 
his  robe  and  handed  it  to  the  Chief  Priest,  who  made  a  pad 
of  it.  The  Lodge-maker  moved  to  the  south  of  the  Chief  Priest,  ex 
tended  his  hands  in  front  of  him,  closed  his  eyes,  and  turned  his 
head,  while  the  Chief  Priest  spat  in  his  hands  after  the  usual  fashion. 

(See  Fig.  18.)  The 
Lodge-maker  rubbed  his 
hands  together,  and 
pressed  them  to  his  head ; 
then  he  held  his  palms 
upward  and  put  the 
palm  of  his  left  hand  on 
the  ground.  The  Chief 
Priest  with  his  right 
hand  grasped  the  right 
hand  of  the  Lodge-maker 
and  caused  him  to  pick 
up,  after  making  four 
passes,  the  buffalo  wool, 
and  place  it  in  the  palm 
of  his  left  hand.  Still 

having  his  hand  guided  by  the  Chief  Priest,  the  Lodge-maker  picked 
up  the  westermost  of  the  two  tampers  and  placed  it  beside  the  pipe. 
In  the  same  manner  he  made  four  passes  with  his  hand  towards  the 
other  tamper,  picked  it  up,  and  laid  it  on  the  buffalo  wool.  He  then 
partially  closed  the  fingers  of  his  left  hand  four  times,  thus  drawing  the 
buffalo  nearer,  then  he  closed  his  hands  over  the  wool  and  the  end 
of  the  stick,  which  he  now  grasped  with  his  right  hand  and  rolled 
in  the  wool,  thus  wrapping  it  around  the  end  of  the  tamper.  He 
now  gave  the  tamper  to  the  Chief  Priest,  who  arranged  the  wool 
about  the  stick  more  perfectly.  Then  the  Chief  Priest  took  the 
hand  of  the  Lodge-maker  as  before,  made  a  circular  motion  toward 
the  ground,  then  four  passes  with  the  thumb,  then  one  toward  the 
southeast,  one  toward  the  southwest,  one  toward  the  northeast,  and 
one  toward  the  center,  thus  forming  a  new  or  third  earth.  The  Chief 
Priest  enlarged  the  circular  space  and  made  it  more  perfect.  The 
two  tampers  were  now  deposited  on  the  ground  just  east  of  the  pipe ; 
that  is,  east  of  the  pipe  and  this  newly  formed  Earth.  (See  Fig.  19.) 
The  pipe-stem  was  pointed  as  before  by  the  Chief  Priest,  then  the  pipe 
was  lighted  and  passed  along  the  line,  each  one  smoking.  The  pipe  was 


FIG.  1 8.    The  Chief  Priest  preparing  Lodge-maker's 
hands. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


cleaned  as  on  the  day  before  in  the  Lone-tipi,  and  the  ashes  were  depos 
ited  in  the  center  of  the  "earth."  Before  the  Lodge-maker  rubbed  the 
pipe-stem,  he  placed  each  time  the  palms  of  his  hands  on  the  ground. 
The  third  earth,  it  should  be  noted,  was  larger  than  either  of  the 
two  formed  the  day  before,  and  is  said  to  symbolize  the  moving  for 
ward  of  the  warriors.  When  ashes  were  placed  on  it  and  the  pipe- 
stem  was  offered  to  it,  the  rite  partook  of  the  nature  of  a  prayer  that 
the  earth  would  bring  forth  fruit.  It  may  also  be  noted  that  the  two 
tampers,  as  had  been  the  two  preceding  pair,  were  abandoned. 


FIG.  19.     The  pipe-tampers  and 
new  earth. 


FIG.  20.     The  Lodge-maker  tak 
ing  up  the  sacred  bundle. 


THE  RETURN  TO  THE  LoxE-TiPi. 

The    Lodge-maker    now   made    four   passes    toward    the    bundle, 
picked  it  up  and  placed  it  on  his  left  arm  (see  Fig.  20),  and  with  the 

Chief  Priest  moved  for 
ward  toward  the  east 
about  fifteen  yards,  the 
remainder  of  the  line 

following.       After    four 

1       ,         11 
passes,  the    bundle  was 

put  down,  and  the 
priests ,  as  before,  stepped 
back  about  twenty  feet, 
and  sat  down.*  (See 
Fig.  2 1 .)  Again  the  pipe 
was  lighted  as  before, 
and  passed  to  the  end 
of  the  line,  being  smoked 
bv  each  member,  where- 


FIG.  21.     The  Lone-tipi  priests  in  line. 


*It  was  noted  that  as  they  passed  the  "earth"  just  formed,  they  were  on  the  right  or  south 
side  of  it,  whereas  they  should  have  passed  by  it  on  the  left  or  north  side. 


88       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM —ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

upon  it  was  passed  back  unsmoked  to  the  Lodge-maker,  who  again 
puffed  on  it  and  passed  it  down  the  line  as  before.  Again  it  was 

.      passed     back     unsmoked     and 

placed  in  front  of  him.  The 
Lodge-maker,  assisted  by  the 
Chief  Priest  (see  Fig.  22)  got  trie 
bundle  and  took  up  the  buffalo 
chip  which  had  been  lying  to  the 
east  of  it,  placed  it  on  top,  then 
all  in  single  file  returned  to  the 

Lone-tipi   and    the   bundle   was 
FIG.  22.     Chief  Priest  assisting  the  laced  Qn  the  wegt  gide 

During  the   absence   of    the 

priests  women  had  taken  down  the  Lone-tipi  and  re-erected  it.  In 
this  there  was  no  formality,  as  the  change  was  made  because  the  tipi 
at  first  had  not  been  properly  set  up.  After  it  was  securely  fastened 
down  they  cleared  a  large  circular  space  within,  of  the  same  size  and 
proportion  as  in  the  tipi  before  it  was  changed. 

SECRET   RITES   IN   THE   LONE-TIPI. 

After  resting  a  few  moments,  the  knife  and  a  stick  were  passed 
to  the  Chief  Priest,  who  held  them  out  in  his  right  hand  in  front  of 
him.  He  touched  the  finger  of  his  left  hand  to  the  ground,  put  it  to 
his  tongue,  took  a  bite  of  root,  and  spat  five  times  upon  the  knife 
and  the  stick,  holding  them  in  the  direction  of  the  assistant  Chief 
Priest.  Then  the  latter  turned  away  his  head,  shut  his  eyes,  and 
held  out  both  hands.  The  Chief  Priest  again  touched  his  finger  to 
the  ground,  put  it  to  his  tongue,  took  a  bite  of  root,  and  spat  five 
times  in  the  hands  of  the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  into  which  he  then 
placed  the  knife  and  stick.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  decorticated 
and  fashioned  the  stick.  Deafy  lighted  a  pipe  and  held  it  out  in 
both  hands  with  the  stem  pointing  upwards,  pointing  it  first  towards 
his  right,  towards  his  left,  straight  ahead,  up,  out  again,  and  down. 
He  lighted  the  pipe,  smoked  it,  and  started  it  around  the  circle.  As 
the  Chief  Priest  received  the  pipe  he  directed  the  stem  toward  the 
ground  in  front  of  him. 

The  Lodge-maker  was  directed  by  Lone-Wolf  to  go  after  cer 
tain  objects.  He  returned  bringing  a  black  pipe,  live  coals,  and  a 
stick,  which  he  gave  to  Cedar-Tree.  The  latter  made  of  the  stick 
two  pipe  cleaners  for  the  black  pipe.  The  Lodge-maker  gave  the 
assistant  Chief  Priest  some  wool  from  his  robe,  which  the  latter  placed 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  89 

in  front  of  himself.  The  Lodge-maker  moved  up  by  the  side  of  the 
assistant  Chief  Priest  and  the  Chief  Priest  prepared  his  hands  as 
before  and  he  wrapped  one  of  the  two  sticks  in  the  buffalo  wool. 

THE  FOURTH  EARTH. 

They  formed  the  earth  anew,  as  on  the  preceding  day,  making  a 
circular  motion  first,  then  five  motions  down,  the  first  being  to  the 
southeast,  the  fifth  in  the  center.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  took 
up  the  pipe,  and  placed  it  by  the  side  of  the  new-formed  earth,  and 
by  its  side  the  two  cleaners,  the  one  bearing  the  buffalo  wool  being 
next  the  pipe.  The  Lodge-maker  took  up  the  coal  which  he  had 
dropped  at  random  on  the  cleared  space  when  he  brought  it  in,  and 
placed  it  by  the  end  of  the  pipe  stem.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest 
picked  up  the  pipe  and  pointed  the  stem  toward  the  earth,  he  lighted 
the  pipe,  took  a  few  whiffs,  made  a  circular  motion  with  the  stem  of 
the  pipe  over  the  "earth"  and  one  pass  with  the  stem  toward  the 
"earth,"  smoked  and  handed  the  pipe  to  the  Lodge-maker,  who  had 
resumed  his  seat  next. to  the  door  on  the  south  side.  He  smoked, 
first  pointing  the  stem  to  the  ground;  then  the  pipe  was  passed 
around  the  circle  until  it  was  smoked  out,  and  was  passed  to  the 
assistant  Chief  Priest,  who  cleaned  it  and  put  it  down.  After  clean 
ing  it  he  stood  it  up  and  moved  it  toward  the  Lodge-maker  four 
times,  whereupon  the  latter  grasped  it  with  both  hands  and  took  it 
to  his  body,  where  he  pressed  it  on  his  right  side,  then  on  his  left, 
then  on  his  right,  then  on  his  left,  and  then  along  the  median  line  of 
his  body ;  he  then  rubbed  his  hands  over  it  and  laid  it  down,  then  took 
it  up  and  filled  it,  and  passed  it  back  to  the  assistant  Chief  Priest. 

THE  SACRIFICE  AND  FEAST. 

The  Lodge-maker  gave  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  a  piece  of  meat 
from  the  feast  which  had  been  brought  in.  The  latter  tore  off  a  small 
bit  and  handed  it  to  the  Lodge-maker,  who  raised  it  aloft,  and  then 
deposited  it  under  the  two  pipe-cleaners,  and  pressed  his  palms  over 
them  and  the  pipe.  The  Lodge-maker's  wife  entered  and  squatted 
down  in  front  of  the  Chief  Priest.  He  took  up  a  piece  of  meat  from 
the  bowl  of  food  in  front  of  him,  touched  his  finger  to  the  ground, 
and  put  it  to  his  tongue,  took  a  bite  of  root,  spat  upon  the  meat  five 
times,  and  gave  it  to  the  Lodge-maker's  wife.  She  moved  it  toward 
her  mouth  four  times,  then  ate  it,  and  drank  some  water.  She  left 
the  lodge.  The  Lodge-maker  went  up  and  received  a  piece  of  meat 
from  the  Chief  Priest  in  the  same  manner,  then  the  food  was  distribu- 


9o 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


ted  among  all  those  present.  The  priests  ate.  After  the  feast  the 
pipe  was  lighted  as  before.  While  they  were  smoking,  the  Lodge- 
maker  made  the  following  prayer:  "Now,  my  friends,  priests,  I 
pray  for  you  and  all  your  children  and  relatives.  Have  pity  this 
day  and  help  me  perform  the  ceremony  in  the  right  way,  and  we  will 
have  good  weather  if  we  do  so." 

The  assistant  Chief  Priest  distributed  pieces  of  calico  which  had 
been  brought  in  with  the  feast,  and  the  dishes  were  passed  out  of  the 
lodge  to  the  women  awaiting  to  receive  them. 

SPY  FOR  THE  CENTER-POLE  CHOSEN. 

Big-Baby  was  warned  to  be  on  hand  early  on  the  following  morn 
ing  to  locate  the  site  of  the  big  lodge,  and  also  to  dig  the  hole  for  the 
center-pole.*  One  of  the  priests  now  told  the  Lodge-maker  to  take 
a  pipe  either  to  Mad-Wolf  or  to  Wolf-Face  who,  as  already  explained, 
were  the  only  two  who  had  acted  as  spies  when  the  whole  tribe  went 
out  on  the  war-path,  and  so  one  or  the  other  of  these  two  had  the 
right  to  act  as  spy  for  the  site  of  the  lodge-pole. 

SMOKING  THE  RED  PIPE. 

The  red  pipe  was  filled  by  the  Lodge -maker,  and  lighted  by  the 
assistant  Chief  Priest,  who  blew  one  puff  and  directed  the  point  of  the 
stem  toward  the  "earth."  He  smoked,  and  the  pipe  was  passed 
around  the  south  half  of  the  circle.  The  Chief  Priest  made  a  short 
speech,  asking  the  remaining  priests  to  help  him  and  to  support  him. 

Again  the  wife  of  the  Lodge-maker  brought  into  the  tipi  a  pail 
of  water.  She  went  over  by  the  Chief  Priest  and  he  touched  his 
finger  to  the  ground,  then  put  it  to  his  tongue,  took  a  bite  of  root 
and  spat  upon  the  water  five  times.  She  drank  from  the  pail,  which, 
however,  was  held  by  the  Lodge-maker,  while  she  knelt  over  it  and 
did  not  touch  it.  It  was  then  carried  to  the  Lodge-maker,  who  took 
the  pail  to  the  Chief  Priest  to  drink,  placing  his  left  hand,  as  before, 
upon  his  head. 

After  some  discussion,  the  priests  decided  to  discontinue  further 
preparation  until  later  in  the  afternoon.  This,  as  already  explained, 
was  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  certain  necessary  raw  material  which 
should  be  prepared  on  the  afternoon  had  not  yet  been  secured. 

*When  a  man  becomes  too  old  to  locate  the  center-pole,  some  young  man  may  obtain  the 
privilege  by  payment  of  a  pony  or  a  present  of  equal  value,  and  thus  obtain  the  right,  and  the  old 
man  retires.  The  one  who  gets  the  right  must  have  been  a  Sun  Dance  Lodge-maker.  He  is 
given  the  same  name  as  that  given  to  a  pile  of  stones  which  is  placed  on  a  hill  to  mark  the  vicinity 
of  a  spring  of  water. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  91 

THE   BUFFALO  SKULL. 

By  the  time  the  priests  had  returned  in  the  afternoon  for  the 
continuation  of  the  secret  rites,  certain  material  had  been  provided 
by  members  of  the  warrior  society  and  placed  at  the  back  of  the  lodge. 
An  old  buffalo  skull  had  also  been  placed  upside  down  in  front  of  the 
tipi,  facing  it  and  at  a  distance  of  about  fifty  feet. 

The  skull  had  been  brought  to  the  camp  by  Bushy-Head,  a  promi 
nent  medicine-man  of  the  Kingfisher  district.  When  the  Lone-tipi 
was  erected,  the  Lodge-maker's  wife  had  taken  it  from  Bushy-Head's 
tipi  and  carried  it  west  of  the  Lone-tipi,  where  she  placed  it  on  the 
ground  upside  down.  There  it  had  remained  until  Little  Hawk,  at 
noon  on  this  day,  carried  it  in  front  of  the  Lone-tipi,  where  he  mo 
tioned  it  toward  the  ground  four  times,  then  rested  it  on  the  ground 
on  its  side  and  moved  it  back  and  forth  four  times  and  left  it. 

The  assistant  Chief  Priest  went  up  to  the  skull,  rubbed  both  hands 
four  times  over  the  north  half  of  the  skull  from  the  east  toward  the 
west,  putting  his  hands  on  the  ground  in  front  of  the  skull  after  each 
movement.*  Thus  he  ceremonially  cleaned  off  the  element  of  age 
from  the  skull.  He  made  a  prayer.  He  then  made  four  passes 
toward  the  skull  with  his  hands  and  grasped  it  at  the  base  of  the 
horns,  lifted  it  up,  pausing  while  lifting  four  times,  and  turned  it 
toward  the  south.  Stooping  well  over  it,  he  lifted  it  up  and  carried 
it  slowly  toward  the  tipi.  Having  approached  the  entrance  he  halted 
and  motioned  the  skull  toward  the*  tipi  four  times,  thus  drawing  four 
herds  of  buffalo.  Within,  he  proceeded  by  way  of  the  south  to  the 
west,  and  moving  the  skull  four  times  he  placed  it  so  that  the  anterior 
half  rested  on  the  cleared  space,  and  faced  the  center  of  the  tipi. 

THE  FIFTH  EARTH. 

The  assistant  Chief  Priest  sat  down  on  the  south  side  of  the  skull 
and  just  in  front  and  at  the  south  side  of  the  jaw  formed  a  new 
"earth,"  representing  a  buffalo  wallow.  The  Chief  Priest  handed  the 
sacred  bundle  to  the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  who  placed  it  to  the  south 
of  him,  while  the  Chief  Priest  placed  the  buffalo  chip  behind  the  skull. 
The  latter  sat  down  behind  the  bundle,  unfastened  the  tie  strings,  and 
removed  the  pipe  which  had  been  tied  up  in  buffalo  hair  and  calico. 
He  then  untied  the  bundle  proper,  and  from  a  calico  wrapper,  inside 
of  which  was  a  large  quantity  of  buffalo  hair,  he  took  out  a  sack 
made  of  the  pericardium  of  a  buffalo  heart.  He  made  four  passes 

*  Formerly  the  log  bone  of  a  buffalo  was  actually  rubbed  over  the  skull  to  ceremonially 
purify  it. 


92       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

toward  the  sack,  took  it  up  slowly,  and  moved  it  toward  the  newly 
formed  "earth."  Then,  with  four  lowering  motions,  he  rested  it  on 
the  earth  and  opened  it.  It  contained  herbs  of  some  sort,  to  be  used 
for  thurifying.  The  Chief  Priest  tied  up  the  bundle  and  the  assist 
ant  Chief  Priest  placed  it  on  the  south  side  of  the  sack. 

THE   REHEARSAL. 

There  now  followed  a  pause,  during  which  time  the  priests  talked 
and  smoked  informally,  awaiting  the  time  when  the  Crier  should  call 
the  members  of  the  Dew-claw  Rattle  society  to  come  to  the  tipi  to 
rehearse.  The  Lodge-maker  got  a  live  coal,  and  placed  it  in  the 
center  of  the  cleared  space.  He  knelt  in  front  of  the  Chief  Priest, 
turned  away  his  head,  and  closed  his  eyes,  while  the  Chief  Priest 
touched  his  finger  to  the  ground,  then  to  his  tongue,  took  a  bite  of 
root,  and  spat  upon  the  Lodge-maker's  hands  five  times.  The  Lodge- 
maker  rubbed  the  palms  of  his  hands  together  and  rubbed  himself. 
He  knelt  on  the  south  side  of  the  skull  and  in  front  of  the  Chief  Priest. 
The  stick  was  passed  by  him  to  the  Chief  Priest,  and  with  it  he 
placed  the  coal  on  the  "earth"  or  wallow,  which,  as  will  be  remem 
bered,  was  made  under  the  tip  of  the  jaw  of  the  skull.  He  then  made 
five  passes  toward  the  bag,  and  from  it  took  a  pinch  of  incense,  which 
he  placed  on  the  coal,  first  making  a  downward  movement  four 
times.  He  then  sat  down  in  his  accustomed  place.  This  was  the 
last  formal  rite  of  the  evening.  Shortly  after  the  Dew-claw  warriors 
entered  the  tipi,  where  they  spent  the  greater  part  of  the  night  in 
informally  rehearsing  songs. 

THE  FOURTH  DAY. 

Before  beginning  the  account  of  the  secret  rites  in  the  Lone- 
tipi,  which  in  the  ceremony  of  1903  took  place  on  July  i4th,  it 
may  again  be  noted  that  all  the  rites  about  to  be  described,  and 
which  took  place  on  that  day,  should  have  taken  place  on  the  pre 


ceding  day. 


SECRET  RITES  IN  THE  LONE-TIPI 


Early  in  this  morning  a  rawhide,  folded  like  a  parflesh,  the  skin 
of  a  rabbit  recently  killed  and  which  had  been  brought  from  the 
Northern  Cheyenne,  a  bowl  of  lime  paint,  a  long  strip  of  sinew,  and 
ten  pipes  were  taken  into  the  tipi.  The  rites  began  at  about  six 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  the  same  priests,  with  one  or  two  ex 
ceptions,  were  present  as  during  the  rites  of  the  preceding  day. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYEXXE  —  DORSEY.  93 

THE  LODGE-MAKER'S  ROBE. 

After  a  short  period  of  smoking,  Big-Baby  took  up  the  rabbit 
skin,  because  symbolic  of  food  in  general,  and  cut  it  into  nine  pieces. 
Through  each  piece  he  inserted  a  piece  of  string.  The  Lodge-maker 
passed  to  him  his  buffalo  robe,  and  Big-Baby  with  an  awl  made  nine 
holes  in  the  robe.  Eight  of  these  holes  were  around  the  border, 
one  being  at  the  head,  one  at  the  tail,  four  at  the  four  extremities, 
one  in  the  middle  on  each  side  of  the  robe,  and  the  ninth  hole  in  the 
center.  Holding  the  hair  side  of  the  robe  out,  Big-Baby  attached 
to  each  of  these  holes  a  piece  of  the  rabbit  skin.  The  Lodge-maker 
left  the  tipi  and  soon  returned  bringing  with  him  ten  dried  rawhide 
objects,  each  in  the  shape  of  a  rattle.  They  were  new,  and  as  yet 
contained  neither  pebbles  nor  handles.  He  also  brought  a  new 
hatchet  and  a  piece  of  wood.  By  that  time  Big-Baby  had  fastened 
the  last  piece  of  rabbit  skin  to  the  robe.  Next  he  mixed  some  white 
lime  paint  in  a  bowl  and  smeared  the  wool  side  of  the  robe  with  the 
paint,  drawing  a  sun  symbol  on  the  right  and  a  moon  symbol  on 
the  left  of  the  piece  of  rabbit  skin  at  the  center  of  the  robe.*  The 
paint  of  the  buffalo  robe,  the  location  of  the  pieces  of  fur,  and  the 
method  of  inserting  the  string  through  the  pieces  of  rabbit  skin 
may  be  seen  in  the  diagram.  (See  Fig.  23.)  The  Chief  Priest 
stooped  down  with  his  back  to  Big-Baby  and  took  up  the  robe  with 
his  two  hands,  grasping  it  along  the  median  line.  Thus  holding  it, 
he  lifted  it,  pausing  four  times,  completely  from  the  ground,  and 
put  it  on  the  Lodge-maker. 

THE  FEAST  AND  THE  PREPARATION  OF  THE  PRIESTS. 

The  wife  of  the  Lodge-maker  brought  into  the  tipi  the  usual 
amount  of  food  for  the  feast,  the  first  bowl  being  placed  in  front 
of  the  Chief  Priest. 

Deafy,  after  having  his  hands  prepared  by  the  Chief  Priest  by 
the  usual  rite,  began  working  on  the  piece  of  sinew,  which,  it  has 
been  noted,  was  brought  into  the  lodge  early  in  the  morning.  The 
Lodge-maker's  hands  being  prepared  in  the  same  manner  by  the 
Chief  Priest,  he  sat  down  in  front  of  the  Chief  Priest  and  ate.  The 
assistant  Chief  Priest  moved  and  sat  south  of  the  buffalo  skull  while 
his  hands  were  prepared  by  the  Chief  Priest.  The  Lodge-maker 

*The  robe  thus  decorated  represented  a  buffalo:  of  the  nine  pieces  of  fur.  four  represented 
the  medicine  spirits,  one  the  sun,  one  the  moon,  one  the  morning  star,  one  the  evening  star,  and 
one  the  spirit  star.  The  privilege  of  painting  the  Lodge-maker's  robe  and  his  wife's  belt  is 
obtained  by  purchase,  and  may  be  owned  by  but  one  priest  at  a  time.  It  is  now  owned  by  Big- 
Baby. 


94       FiKi.n    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


left  the  tipi  and  returned  with  some  live  coals,  which  he  placed  in 
the  center  of  the  cleared  space.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  reached 
toward  the  skull,  moved  his  hand  four  times  and  picked  up  the 
sack  containing  the  incense,  which  he  tied  up  in  a  bundle.  Then, 
with  four  more  passes,  he  picked  up  the  sacred  bundle  and  placed 
it  back  of  the  buffalo  skull,  first  moving  it  four  times  toward  the 
"earth."  The  bundle  was  so  placed  that  the  stem  of  the  pipe  was 
pointing  toward  the  south.  A  large  bundle  of  fresh,  long  swamp 


FIG.  23.     Diagram  of  Lodge-maker's  robe. 

grass  was  brought  into  the  lodge  and  placed  by  the  side  of  the  assistant 
Chief  Priest  and  between  him  and  the  bundle.  Red-Cloud  and 
Black-Man  had  their  hands  prepared  by  the  Chief  Priest,  and  then 
the  preparation  of  the  objects  to  be  used  in  the  afternoon  and  on 
the  following  morning  began  in  earnest. 

THE  WOMAN'S   BELT. 

Cedar-Tree  took  the  rawhide  outside  the  tipi  in  order  to  straighten 
it  out,  for,  on  account  of  its  having  been  folded,  it  could  not  be 
opened.  Having  straightened  the  rawhide  he  returned  with  it,  and, 
making  four  motions  toward  it,  cut  a  belt  for  the  wroman.  (See 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYEXXK —  DORSKY. 


95 


Fig.  24.)  This  was  about  four 
inches  wide  and  long  enough  to  go 
around  her  body.  At  the  corners 
of  each  end  he  made,  with  a  sharp 
knife,  small  holes  for  the  inser 
tion  of  the  tying  strings,  which  he 
cut  from  the  remaining  rawhide. 
He  then  cut  a  long  strip  of  raw 
hide  to  be  used  in  the  fork  of  the  iHH  •••;•  ••*"""  v/ 
center-pole.  -sj^ 

THE  LODGE-MAKER'S  HEAD 
DRESS. 

Big-Baby  began  the  prepara-          FlG-  2-*-    ^dar-Tree  preparing  the 
tion    of    the    head-dress    for  the 

Lodge-maker.  He  took  a  goose  feather,  some  horsehair,  a  piece  of 
sage,  the  scalp  of  a  red-headed  wroodpecker,  and  a  piece  of  the  windpipe 
of  a  buffalo.  Having  assembled  the  parts  and  combined  them,  he 
was  ready  to  trim  off  the  loose  ends,  but  before  beginning  he  related 
the  following  war  story:  "A  party  went  many  years  ago  against 
the  Shoshoni,  who  were  on  Rosebud  River.  There  was  one  tipi 
which  we  charged,  and  we  killed  all,  and  Little-Shield  counted  coup 
first,  Porcupine-Sioux  second,  and  I  was  the  third  to  strike,  and 
I  took  the  scalp."  He  related  the  war  story  because  he  was  "scalp 
ing"  the  head-dress. 

Before  painting  the  head-dress  he  fashioned  the  skirt  to  be  worn 
by  the  woman.  After  this  he  motioned  four  times  to  the  base  of 
the  head-dress  and  took  it  up,  and  on  the  right  side  of  it  he  painted 
a  white  line,  then  a  line  on  the  left,  another  on  the  right,  and  another 
on  the  left.  He  then  handed  it  to  the  Lodge-maker,  who  grasped 
it  in  both  hands  and  drew  it  back  against  his  body  on  his  right  side, 
then  on  his  left,  then  on  his  right,  then  on  his  left,  and  then  to  the 
middle  of  his  body.  He  then  gave  it  a  circular  motion  four  times 
around  his  head,  beginning  first  at  the  southeast  corner.  He  then 
brought  it  against  his  breast  again  and  finally  placed  it  on  his  head. 

THE  WOMAN'S  SKIRT. 

Having  finished  the  head-dress,  Big-Baby  began  to  make  a  buck 
skin  skirt  for  the  woman.  Formerly  this  was  made  of  buffalo  hide, 
but  as  it  is  impossible  to  secure  buffalo  it  is  now  made  of  buckskin. 
This  was  cut  in  rectangular  shape,  about  three  feet  wide  and  four 


96       FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

feet  long.  It  was  folded  so  that  the  two  narrow  ends  were  brought 
together  and  along  these  edges  holes  were  made  so  that  it  could  be 
laced.  Having  fashioned  the  tying  strings,  he  thrust  his  fingers  in 
the  white  lime  paint  and  drew  them  irregularly  over  both  exposed 
faces  of  the  skirt,  the  markings  being  symbolic  of  rabbit  tracks. 

THE   LODGE-MAKER'S  WHISTLE. 

Deafy  now  prepared  the  eagle  wing  bone  whistle  to  be  used  by 
the  Lodge-maker.  He  attached  to  it  a  buckskin  thong  by  which 
it  could  be  suspended  about  the  neck,  and  tied  to  it  a  piece  of  sage. 

PREPARING  THE  BUFFALO  SKULL. 

While  the  priests  under  the  direction  of  the  Chief  Priest  were 
preparing  the  ceremonial  costumes  of  the  Lodge-maker  and  his  wife, 
the  assistant  Chief  Priest  had  been  working  continuously  for  over 
an  hour  on  the  buffalo  skull.  First  he  took  up  the  bundle  of  swamp 
grass  and  began  to  fashion  three  large  plugs  for  the  two  eye  sockets 
and  the  nasal  cavity.  These  finished,  the  Lodge-maker  was  re 
minded  that  before  he  painted  the  skull  or  proceeded  further  he 
should  have  his  compensation  for  the  service.  Consequently  the 
Lodge-maker  prayed  as  follows:  "Please  do  this  right;  all  of  you 
will  be  happy;  have  pity  on  me  and  if  you  will  perform  this  as  you 
ought  you  will  receive  benefits  from  the  ceremony,"  and  left  the 
tipi.  He  soon  returned,  bringing  a  gun,  which  he  presented  to  the 
assistant  Chief  Priest.  The  latter  made  four  moves  with  his  hand 
and  picked  up  one  of  the  grass  plugs  and  moved  it  four  times  toward 
the  eye  socket  and  inserted  it.  He  repeated  these  motions  while 
he  placed  in  position  the  second  plug.  He  then  completed  the  piece 
which  was  to  be  placed  in  the  nasal  cavity;  attempting  to  insert  it, 
he  discovered  that  the  nasal  bones  were  in  the  way.  As  he  broke 
these  out,  one  of  the  priests  remarked  that  work  of  that  nature 
should  be  done  outside  of  the  lodge. 

He  knelt  down  behind  the  skull  and  painted  a  black  line  along 
the  median  line  of  the  skull  from  back  to  front.  The  line  was  about 
an  inch  in  width  and  represented  the  road  to  the  four  medicine 
spirits.  Parallel  with  this  and  on  each  side  he  painted  a  narrower 
line  in  white,  which  also  extended  from  the  base  to  the  anterior 
part  of  the  skull.  He  then  painted  the  remainder  of  the  skull, 
including  the  horns,  red.  The  white  lines  represented  day,  the 
black  night,  the  red  of  the  skull  the  earth.  He  then  painted  the 
two  gra^s  plugs  in  the  eye  and  nasal  sockets  red ;  they  represented 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


97 


the  vegetation  of  the 
earth.  He  next  painted  on 
the  right  jaw  a  large  circle 
in  solid  red,  representing 
the  sun,  and  on  the  left 
jaw,  in  black,  a  crescent,  or 
moon  symbol,  making  four 
passes  with  his  finger  be 
fore  he  began  painting  these 
two  symbols.  (See  Fig.  25.) 
He  then  wrapped  up  the 
paints  and  placed  the  bags 
by  the  side  of  the  sacred 
bundle,  and  the  temporary 
altar  was  complete.  (See  Fig.  26.) 


FIG.  25.     The  buffalo  skull. 


THE  CEXTER-POLE  IMAGE. 

Cedar-Tree,  from  the  piece  of  rawhide  remaining  after  he  made 
the  woman's  belt,  cut  out  the  image  of  an  armless  man  about  twelve 
inches  in  length,  fashioning  it  so  that  it  had  a  membrum  of  undue 
proportions.  Both  sides  of  the  posterior  half  of  the  figure,  from  the 
union  of  the  legs  to  the  top  of  the  head,  he  painted  black,  with 
charcoal.  The  anterior  half  of  the  figure  on  both  sides  was  left 
plain  or  white.  Then  he  fastened  to  the  top  of  the  figure  an  eagle 
breath  feather.  (See  Fig.  27.)  The  image  was  called  a  "person," 
or,  more  strictly  speaking,  a  Pawnee;  that  is,  it  represented  in  general 
the  enemies  of  the  Cheyenne,  but  the  Pawnee  especially,  because 


FIG.  26.     The  buffalo-skull  altar  in  the  Lone-tipi. 


98      FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


FIG.  27.     The  rawhide  human  effigy. 


they  were  the  enemies 
that  they  most  hated. 
The  white  represented 
the  earth ;  the  black  the 
clouds ;  hence  the  figure 
also  represented  their 
enemies,  both  above  and 
below.  Later  the  same 
priest  took  two  long 
pieces  of  sinew  and 
twisted  them,  and  with 
the  rope  thus  made  he 
suspended  the  figure 
from  the  center  fork. 


THE  DRUM-STICK   RATTLES. 

It  has  been  noted  that  ten  rawhide  objects,  to  be  used  as  rattles, 
had  been  brought  into  the  tipi  on  this  morning,  together  with  a 
bundle  of  cottonwood  sticks  about  four  feet  long.  Deafy  and  another 
priest  began  to  prepare  the  sticks  and  to  trim  and  cut  them  into 
equal  lengths;  one  of  them  was  decorated.  These  were  inserted  in 
the  mouth  of  the  body  of  the  rattles  into  which  had  first  been  placed 
pebbles.  The  place  of  union  of  the  handle  with  the  rattle  wras 
wrapped  with  sinews  and  the  drum-stick  rattles  were  complete. 

FILLING  THE  SACRED  PIPE. 

It  was  then  time  to  refill  the  sacred  straight  black  pipe  that 
had  been  smoked  on  the  previous  night.  As  the  operation  differed 
somewhat  from  the  first,  it 
is  again  described  in  full. 
(PL  XXV.)  The  assistant 
Chief  Priest  took  his  place 
by  the  side  of  the  sacred 
bundle,  moved  his  hands 
toward  it  four  times,  picked 
it  up  and  placed  it  in  front 
of  him.  (See  Fig.  28.)  He 
untied  it  and  took  out  the 
pipe,  stem,  braided  sweet- 
grass,  and  piece  of  sinew, 
and  retied  the  bundle.  He  FIG.  28.  Filling  the  sacred  pipe. 


PL.  XXV.    FILLING  THE  SACRED  PIPE. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.   XXV. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


99 


took  the  sinew  and  tore  from  it  five  shreds  and  placed  them  across 
his  hands  as  in  the  rite  already  described,  the  act  of  closing  the  hand 
now  representing  people  coming  together  to  be  united. 

The  Lodge-maker  moved  toward  the  west  and  sat  between  the 
assistant  Chief  Priest  and  the  Chief  Priest.  He  opened  out  his 
buffalo  robe  and  placed  on  it  some  tobacco.  The  Chief  Priest  then 
prepared  the  hands  of  the  Lodge- 
maker  by  the  usual  method ;  then 
the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  taking 
the  two  hands  of  the  Lodge-maker 
with  his  own,  caused  him  to  pick 
up  the  bowl  of  the  pipe  (see  Fig. 
29),  draw  it  toward  him,  pausing 
four  times,  and  stand  it  on  end. 
He  then  caused  him  to  pick  up 
the  sinew,  make  a  circular  motion 
with  it  over  the  pipe  bowl,  and 
four  passes  toward  the  bowl,  and 
then  the  sinew  was  placed  in  the 
pipe.  Next  the  assistant  Chief 
Priest  caused  him  to  make  four 
passes  and  grasp  the  tamper,  with 
which  he  caused  him  to  make  the  circular  motion  and  the  four  passes, 
and  then  to  push  the  pellet  of  sinew  half-way  down  the  pipe,  measur 
ing  with  the  tamper  itself  to  locate  the  exact  division.  Contin 
uing  to  grasp  the  hands  of  the  Lodge-maker,  the  assistant  Chief 
Priest  caused  him  to  make  one  circular  motion  over  the  tobacco, 
and  four  toward  it,  whereupon  a  small  pinch  was  placed  in  the  bowl 
at  the  southeast  side,  the  Lodge-maker's  hands  circling  the  bowl  and 
being  directed  toward  it  four  times.  Again  the  circular  motion  was 
made,  and  the  four  passes,  and  another  pinch  of  tobacco  was  picked 
up,  which  was  again  circled  around  the  bowl  of  the  pipe  and  motioned 
toward  it  four  times  and  placed  in  the  southeast  corner.  With 
similar  movements  a  pinch  was  placed  in  the  northwest  and  north 
east  corners  and  in  the  center  of  the  bowl.  The  circular  motion 
and  the  four  passes  were  made  to  pick  up  the  tamper.  The  circular 
motion  and  passes  were  made  toward  the  bowl  and  the  tobacco  was 
tamped.  These  movements  were  continued  three  additional  times. 
The  pipe  was  then  completely  filled  without  further  formality  and 
smoothed  down  at  the  top  with  the  thumb.  A  circular  motion  was 
made  over  the  tobacco,  and,  with  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  still 
directing  the  Lodge-maker's  hands,  he  brought  the  bowl  forward 


FIG.  29.     Picking  up  the  bowl  of  the 
sacred  pipe. 


ioo     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

and  placed  it  in  front  of  the  stem,  and  by  similar  movement  inserted 
the  stem.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  then  applied  a  bit  of  tallow 
over  the  mouth  of  the  bowl  to  prevent  the  tobacco  from  spilling 
out,  and  greased  the  stem.  He  grasped  the  hands  of  the  Lodge- 
maker  and  caused  him  to  pick  up  the  buffalo  wool,  put  it  on  the 
end  of  the  stem  and  wrap  it  around.*  Then,  the  hands  in  the  same 
position,  the  pipe  bowl  was  drawn  toward  the  stem.  The  hands 
were  released  and  again  the  bowl  of  the  pipe  was  drawn  forward 
as  before.  With  two  more  movements  the  bowl  was  in  contact 
with  and  ready  for  the  insertion  of  the  stem.  This  was  done  by 
the  assistant  Chief  Priest  without  formality. 

PAINTING  THE  SACRED  PIPE. 

The  Chief  Priest  went  to  the   Lodge-maker's  side  and  took  up 
the  pipe,  rested  it   on    the  buffalo  chip,f  and  wiped  it  from  end  to 

end  four  times,  thus  purifying  the 
pipe,  and  so  all  people,  and  draw 
ing  the  buffalo  to  them,  and  handed 
the  pipe  to  the  assistant  Chief 
Priest.  A  coal,  symbolic  of  heat 
and  light  for  all  animals,  people, 
etc.,  was  placed  in  front  of  the 
assistant  Chief  Priest  by  the  Lodge- 
maker  and  he  laid  the  pipe  down, 
pausing  before  placing  it  on  the 
ground,  four  times.  The  assistant 
Chief  Priest  again  took  the  two 
hands  of  the  Lodge-maker,  and 
with  four  passes  picked  up  a  pinch 
of  red  paint,  and  with  four  passes 
placed  it  in  the  palm  of  the  Lodge- 
maker's  left  hand;  four  similar 
passes  and  tallow  was  added ;  four 


FIG.  30.     Painting  the  sacred  pipe. 


passes  and  a  pinch  of  sweet-grass  was  placed  upon  the  coal.  The 
Lodge-maker  then  rubbed  and  mixed  the  tallow  in  his  hands,  and 
bathed  them  four  times,  as  already  described,  in  the  incense.  He 
then  made  four  passes,  picked  up  the  pipe  in  his  left  hand,  made 
four  passes  with  his  right  hand,  and  drew  it  up  the  pipe  twice.  (See 
Fig.  30.)  He  transferred  the  pipe  to  his  right  hand  and  repeated 


*Thus  in  smoking  the  pipe  they  would  draw  the  buffalo  to  them . 

fThe  chip  is  symbolic  of  the  food  of  the  buffalo  and  hence  of  life  in  general. 


PL.  XXVI.    PREPARING  THE  FIRE-SPOON  AND  EARTH-PEG. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


101 


the  motions  twice  with  his 
left  hand.  He  grasped  the 
pipe  with  both  hands  and 
moved  them  slowly  upward, 
each  time  rubbing  his  hands 
around  the  stem.  By  con 
tinuing  this  movement  four 
times  he  reached  the  end  of 
the  bowl,  where  he  rubbed 
his  hands  over  the  end  of 
the  tobacco.  (See  Fig.  31.) 
The  assistant  Chief  Priest 
laid  the  pipe  down  by  the 
side  of  the  skull,  first  making 
four  passes,  the  stem  point 
ing  toward  the  east.  The 
tamper  was  put  between  the 
pipe  and  the  skull. 


FiG.  31.     Painting  the  sacred  pipe. 


THE  EARTH-PEG  AND  THE   FIRE-SPOOX. 

As  the  earth-peg,  or  digging  stick,  and  the  fire-spoon  could  not 
be  made  within  the  tipi,  Good-Man  and  Medicine-Bundle  left  the 
tipi  and  began  work  outside  on  two  cottonwood  sticks  about  five 
feet  long,  which  had  been  placed  there  for  that  purpose;  the  former 
preparing  the  peg,  the  latter  the  spoon.  (See  PI.  XXVI.)  Before 
applying  a  knife  to  the  wood  both  priests  motioned  it  towards  the 
stick  four  times.  Then  Medicine-Bundle  measured  on  his  stick  from 
his  left  elbow  to  the  finger  tip  of  his  right  hand.  The  spoon  (see 
Fig.  32)  when  finished  was  five  feet  eight  inches  in  length,  had  a 


FIG.  32.    The  fire-spoon. 

long,  straight  handle  and  a  narrow  bowl  ten  inches  in  length,  the 
distance  being  measured  by  doubling  the  length  from  the  wrist 
to  the  finger  tip.  It  is  used  only  in  the  Sun  Dance  lodge  by  the 
Lodge-maker  in  carrying  coals,  and  is  so  constructed  as  to  prevent 
fire  from  dropping  as  he  carries  it.* 

The  stick  to  be  used  as  the  peg  was  measured  by  Good-Man 
from  his  left  shoulder  to  the  finger  tip  of  his  right  hand.  When 

*This  action  is  symbolic  of  fire  in  the  tipi,  which  he  wishes  to  burn  as  the  lodge  fire  does,  for 
they  formerly  took  fire  to  their  homes  and  it  burned  and  gave  them  health.  They  surrounded 
the  fire  with  bent  sticks,  or  tongs,  each  eager  to  get  ahead  of  the  other. 


102     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


see  Fig.  33)  it  meas 
ured  three  feet  ten  inches  in 
FIG.  33.    The  earth-peg.  length,    was    pointed    at   one 

end,  and  at  the  other  had  five 

cup-shaped  figures  three  inches  in  length;  these  were  produced  by 
making  deep  notches  around  the  stick  at  regular  intervals,  and  are 
symbolic  of  the  four  medicine  spirits  and  the  sun.  It  is  to  be  used 
later  in  locating  the  altar,  etc.,  and  finally  finds  a  permanent  resting- 
place  in  the  center  fork,  from  which  the  four  medicine  spirits  look 
down. 

Their  work  concluded,  the  priests  took  the  peg  and  spoon  in 
side  the  tipi.  The  spoon  was  placed  on  the  cleared  space  and  the 
peg  was  handed  to  the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  who  carefully  placed 
it  behind  the  skull,  with  its  point  directed  toward  the  west. 

THE  NOONDAY  FEAST. 

Food  and  water  were  brought  into  the  tipi  by  the  wife  of  the 
Lodge-maker  and  her  friends.  This  time  she  sat  down  and  remained 
during  the  meal.  The  Lodge-maker  made  the  usual  sacrifice,  the 
priests  ate,  and  the  food  bowls  and  remaining  food  were  removed. 
The  Lodge-maker  went  out  and  secured  live  coals  which  he  placed 
in  front  of  the  Chief  Priest,  taking  his  seat  between  him  and  the 
assistant  Chief  Priest.  The  latter  prepared  his  hands  in  the  usual 
manner,  while  the  Chief  Priest  prepared  those  of  the  Lodge-maker, 
who  lighted  a  pipe,  and  after  the  customary  offerings  the  pipe  was 
passed  about  the  circle. 

THE   ENEMY  ARROW. 

About  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  Red-Cloud  unwrapped  a  bundle 
which  he  had  brought  into  the  tipi  in  the  morning  and  took  out 
four  arrows,  which  he  handed  to  the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  who 
placed  them  behind  him.  At  the  same  time  there  had  been  given  him 
a  piece  of  dried  meat  which  had  been  cut  from  the  ribs;  this  he  had 
placed  by  the  side  of  the  arrows.  He  took  a  pinch  of  sweet-grass 
and  placed  it  in  front  of  the  Chief  Priest.  Then  he  turned  and 
took  up  one  of  the  four  arrows  from  behind  him,  carrying  it  west 
of  the  point  of  the  earth-peg  and  directing  the  point  toward  the 
door  of  the  tipi.  He  rested  it  by  the  Lodge-maker  and  held  it  so 
that  the  point  was  directed  upward.  The  Lodge-maker  prepared 
red  paint  and  tallow  and  incensed  the  paint  by  making  the  four 
passes  with  his  closed  and  open  hands,  as  already  described,  and 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  103 

rubbed  his  palms  together.*  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  took  the 
Lodge-maker's  right  hand  in  his  and  caused  him  to  make  four  passes 
toward  the  arrow  from  the  point  to  the  tip.  The  Lodge-maker 
rubbed  his  hands  together,  and  he  drew  his  hand  up  on  the  north 
side  of  the  arrow,  thus  raising  the  people.  He  reversed  the  point 
and  drew  his  left  hand  up  on  the  south  side  of  the  arrow.  Then 
the  Lodge-maker  grasped  the  arrow  with  both  hands  and  extended 
his  hands  upward,  making  four  pauses,  as  when  painting  the  pipe. 
As  he  grasped  it  the  last  time  each  thumb  was  extended  to  the  end 
of  the  wooden  shaft.  He  did  this  four  times.  He  then  carefully 
painted  such  portions  of  the  arrow  as  had  not  already  been  painted, 
including  the  feathers.  During  this  time  the  point  of  the  arrow 
had  been  directed  upward.  The  arrow  was  reversed  and  the  point 
was  directed  toward  the  ground.  In  this  position  it  was  carried 
backward,  south  of  the  skull,  south  of  the  "earth,"  and  west  of 
the  earth-peg,  laid  down  and  pushed  forward  four  times,  until  it 
rested  by  the  three  unpainted  arrows. 

PAINTING  THE  EARTH-PEG. 

The  assistant  Chief  Priest  turned,  made  four  passes  toward 
the  earth-peg,  lifted  it  and  stood  it  up  in  front  of  him.  He  took 
the  index  finger  of  the  Lodge-maker's  right  hand,  and  with  four 
passes  caused  him  to  draw  a  circular  line  around  the  peg,  about 
two-thirds  of  the  way  up  from  the  point.  He  caused  the  Lodge- 
maker  to  paint  a  similar  band  just  above  this  in  red,  the  red  paint 
being  about  four  inches  below  the  lowest  medicine  symbol.  Then, 
without  formality,  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  deepened  the  color  and 
made  it  more  regular,  and  the  Lodge-maker,  without  further  for 
mality  painted  the  lower  two  thirds  of  the  stick  in  solid  red,  thus 
imitating  the  painting  of  the  center-pole  of  the  great  lodge,  and 
in  fact  the  whole  lodge  and  the  people.  Then,  in  the  same  manner, 
the  Lodge-maker  was  caused  to  paint  a  black  circle  about  an  inch 
above  the  red,  making  first  four  passes,  the  assistant  Chief  Priest 
holding  the  peg.  As  the  red  circle  represented  the  earth,  so  this 
white  or  unpainted  part  represented  the  day,  while  the  black  was 
symbolic  of  night.  Then  the  Lodge-maker,  without  further  assist 
ance,  painted  the  remainder  or  upper  third  of  the  peg,  black.  Then 
the  peg  was  replaced  by  the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  the  point  being 
turned  toward  the  west,  and  the  peg  being  given  four  forward  move 
ments  before  it  was  laid  down. 

*His  hands  represented  the  earth,  \vhile  the  incense  went  to  the  sun  and  to  the  four  medicine- 
spirits;  thus  the  earth  was  made  to  grow. 


104     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

THE  ARROW  AND  THE  EARTH-PEG. 

The  assistant  Chief  Priest  took  up  the  side  of  jerked  beef  and 
cut  from  the  center  a  circular-shaped  flap  about  three  inches  in  diam 
eter.  Lone-Wolf  touched  the  ground  with  his  finger,  spat  in  his 
hands  five  times,  and  said:  "Whenever  you  perform  this  ceremony 
for  your  'father'  you  will  do  this,  and  when  you  do  this,  do  it  in 
this  way."  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  took  up  the  single  painted 
arrow  from  the  bundle  of  four  and  ran  it  through  the  opening  to 
about  one-third  of  its  length,  and  then  he  took  the  earth-peg  and 
ran  it  through,  repeating  what  Lone- Wolf  had  told  him.*  Then 
he  made  four  motions  and  laid  the  objects  down  south  of  the  pipe, 
the  point  of  the  earth-peg  pointing  east  and  projecting  out  on  the 
bare  cleared  ground.  The  side  of  beef  and  the  three  unused  arrows 
were  carried  out  of  the  tipi. 


PAINTING  THE  LODGE-MAKER  AND  HIS  WIFE. 

With  the  above  performance  the  last  of  the  Lone-tipi  rites  was 
at  an  end;  it  only  remained  to  paint  and  dress  the  Lodge-maker 
and  his  wife  and  abandon  the  tipi.  As  the  priests,  according  to 
custom,  were  to  receive  the  garments  which  the  couple  wore  at  the 
time  of  the  beginning  of  the  painting,  they  both  had  left  the  tipi 
shortly  before  this  time  and  had  returned,  each  completely  clad  in  a 
fine  buckskin  suit.  Both  took  a  sip  of  water,  which  was  to  be  the 
last  until  the  end  of  the  ceremony. t  The  Lodge-maker  sat  down 
in  front  of  Big-Baby  and  his  wife  sat  down  in  front  of  Black-Man, 
both  priests  having  had  their  hands  prepared  by  the  Chief  Priest. 
The  Lodge-maker  and  his  wife  removed  their  outer  garments.  Big- 
Baby  made  four  passes  toward  the  Lodge-maker's  hair  and  handed 
him  a  comb  with  which  he  combed  his  hair  back  of  his  ears.  Black- 
Man  at  the  same  time  made  four  passes  and  combed  the  Lodge- 
maker's  wife's  hair.  Big-Baby  dipped  the  tips  of  his  fingers  in  the 
white  paint,  rubbed  his  hands  together,  and  with  the  fingers  of  each 
hand  made  in  the  palm  of  the  other  hand  a  figure  like  the  one  here 

given     > <     This  was  to  draw   presents   to   the  Lodge-maker  and 

his  wife.     He  then  passed  his  hands  down  over  her  breast,  up  her 

*Thus  the  desire  was  expressed  that  their  arrows  while  on  the  hunt  should  be  as  effective  as 
this  arrow. 

fFrom  that  time  they  were  to  imitate  the  great  medicine-spirit  who  long  ago  fasted  forty 
days  and  then  took  pity  on  the  world  and  made  it.  He  sent  a  messenger  to  the  Cheyenne  and 
told  the  messenger  how  long  he  was  to  fast,  and  he  told  him  to  fast  four  days  each  time,  each 
period  to  represent  ten  of  the  forty  which  the  great  medicine-spirit  fasted.  Thus  they  were  to 
imitate  him  and  fast  forty  days,  in  order  to  learn  how  to  make  the  earth. 


MAY,,  1905. 


THE    CHEVEXXE  —  DORSEY. 


105 


arms  to  the  top  of  her  head  and  down  her  legs,  for  the  four  medicine- 
spirits  and  the  sun,  for  the  Lodge-maker  and  his  wife  desired  to  be 
supported  by  those  beings.  As  the  hands  were  passed  down  the 
legs,  the  tips  of  the  fingers  were  placed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  give 
the  painting  a  grained  appearance.  This  represented  straight  roads, 
which  they  desire  them  to  follow.  The  legs,  breast,  and  back  of  both 
Lodge-maker  and  his  wife  were  thoroughly  coated  with  paint.  Then 
the  entire  bodies  were  both  completely  painted  and  grained.  The 
white  gypsum  paint  is  said  to  be  endurable,  sound,  hard,  heavy, 
and  never  dies;  it  represents  the  white  earth.  Thus  the  Lodge- 
maker  and  his  wife  express  the  desire  that  their  life  may  be  pro 
longed  until  old  age. 

Both  priests  next  painted  on  their  subjects  the  symbols  of  the 
medicine-spirits,  sun  and  moon.  The  first,  or  medicine-spirit  of 
the  south,  was  represented  by  a  black  circular  line  encompassing 
the  right  ankle ;  the  west  spirit  by  a  line  around  the  right  wrist ;  the 
north  spirit  by  a  line  around  the  left  wrist;  and  the  east  spirit  by 
a  line  around  the  right  ankle.  The  sun  symbol,  a  circular  black 
disc,  was  placed  on  the  breast,  and  a  crescent  representing  the  moon 
was  placed  on  the  back  of  the  right  shoulder.  Next  a  black  circle 
was  painted  around  the  face,  representing  the  earth,  the  circle  being 
begun  at  the  chin  and  continued  to  the  left  side  of  the  face,  and 
on  around.  Projecting  from  this  circle  toward  the  center  of  the 
face  were  four  short  lines, 
one  in  front  of  each  ear, 
one  in  the  center  of  the 
forehead,  and  one  on  the 
chin.  These  represented 
the  four  medicine-spirits. 
On  the  nose  wras  painted 
a  black  dot  representing 
the  sun.  Small  wreaths 
of  sage  were  fastened  on 
the  right  ankle  and  right 
wrist,  and  on  the  left 
wrist  and  ankle,  being  so 
fashioned  as  to  project 
for  several  inches  back- 


FiG.  34.     The  Lodge-maker,  in  ceremonial  costume. 


ward  on  the  ankles  and  downward  on  the  wrists.  The  wreaths  repre 
sented  sacrifices  and  growth,  and  were  also  symbols  of  medicine-spirits, 
for  now  the  time  of  growth  is  approaching.  Next  the  head-dress  of 
each  was  placed  in  position ;  then  a  whistle  was  put  over  the  Lodge- 


io6     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


maker's  head,  the  priest  making 
first  four  passes.  (See  Fig.  34.) 
Black-Man  tied  a  bunch  of  sage  in 
the  hair  over  each  ear  of  the  wo 
man  to  express  the  desire  that  the 
grass  should  come.  (See  Fig.  35.) 
The  Lodge-maker  put  on  a  long 
buckskin  kilt  which  was  tied  on 
his  right  side.  Big-Baby  placed 
five  bunches  of  sage  in  the  Lodge- 
maker's  belt,  one  being  attached 
at  each  side,  both  in  front  and 
behind,  and  one  in  the  center,  in 
front.  Black-Man  painted  the  wo 
man's  hair  white,  and  Big-Baby 
painted  the  Lodge-maker's  white. 

The  white  hair  was  indicative  of  the  desire  that  they  might  come  to 

be  gray  haired,  and  thus  live  to  old  age. 


FIG.  35.     The  Lodge-maker's  wife  in 
ceremonial  costume. 


THE  PRIESTS  PREPARE  TO  LEAVE  THE  LONE-TIPI. 

Black-Man  folded  the  robe  of  the  woman  so  that  the  hair  side 
was  out  and  fastened  it  around  her,  holding  it  in  place  by  the  belt, 
which  he  drew  tight  in  front  of  her,  the  robe  being  placed  like  a 
skirt,  and  reaching  up  under  her  arms.  Big-Baby  passed  the  paint 
to  Cedar-Tree,  who  painted  ttie  under  half  of  the  image  which  he 
had  made.  The  point  was  taken  out  of  the  arrow  and  the  feathers 
were  stripped  down,  and  it  was  painted  white.  Cedar-Tree  then 
held  up  the  image  and  the  arrow,  and  said:  "I  went  on  the  war 
path  on  the  Arkansas  River  as  a  scout,  and  spied  the  enemy.  Again 
1  went  as  spy,  and  while  out  I  killed  an  enemy."  The  Lodge-maker 
went  over  to  Cedar-Tree  and  after  four  passes  received  the  image 
and  arrow.  He  took  them  close  to  his  body,  first  to  his  right,  then 
to  his  left,  to  his  right,  to  his  left,  and  to  the  middle  of  his  body, 
thus  receiving  the  power  which  had  enabled  Cedar-Tree  to  be  victo 
rious.  The  arrow  was  broken,  because  it  was  the  enemy's  arrow, 
thus  indicating  that  so  it  shall  be  with  all  of  their  arrows  if  they 
come  against  the  Cheyenne.  The  arrow  and  image  were  placed  by 
the  side  of  Cedar-Tree  and  all  smoked.  The  Lodge-maker  and  his 
wife  were  barefooted.  Deafy  left  the  lodge  and  brought  in  two 
pairs  of  moccasins,  which  they  put  on. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


107 


THE  LONE-TIPI  IS  ABANDONED. 

The   priests   arose,  and   all  except   the   Chief   Priest,   the   Lodge- 

maker  and  his  wife  passed  around  by  way  of  the  north  of  the  tipi 

and  passed  outside,  where  they  circled  the  lodge  by  way  of  the  east, 

north,  west,  and  sat  on  the  south.     A  large  bowl  of  water  was  passed 

within  the  lodge.     The  Chief  Priest  took  a  bite  of  root,  spat  on  the 

water  as  before,  and  both  the  Lodge- 

maker  and  his  wife  stepped  over  and 

drank  copiously,  making  four  nods  with 

their  heads  toward  the  water  and  four 

movements     with     their     lips     before 

drinking.     This    w^as    to    be    the    last 

time   they   were    to    drink    until    the 

ceremony    should    end.     The    woman 

took    a    position    behind    the    buffalo 

skull. 

The  Chief  Priest  placed  the  bundle 

on   one   side  and  the  buffalo  chip  on 

top  of  it.     He  took  the  woman's  hands 

in  his,  made  four   passes    toward    the 

skull,  and  she  grasped  it  just  in  front 

of  the  horns,  gently  lifted  upon  it  four 

times,  then  raised  it  from  the  ground 

and  carried  it  slowly  forward  by  way  of  the  north  or  left  toward  the 

center  of  the  tipi  and  passed  on  outside  the  tipi.      (See   Fig.   36.) 

The  Lodge  -maker  took  up  the  black  and  red  pipes  and  followed.     The 

other  priests  re 
turned  within  the 
tipi  and  took  a 
drink  out  of  the 
bowl.  The  priests 
took  up  the  re 
maining  objects, 
one  the  rattles, 
another  the  earth- 
peg,  another  the 
altar  brush,  etc., 
and  passed  out 
side  and  formed 
in  line  behind  the 
ooney.)  woman  carrying 


FIG.  36.     The  Lodge-maker's  wife 
carrying  buffalo  skull. 


FIG.  37.     The  priests  abandoning  the  Lone-tipi. 


io8     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


the  buffalo  skull.      (See  Fig.  37  and  PL  XXVII.)     The  woman  pro 
ceeded  toward  the  Sun  Dance  lodge  and  about  a  hundred  feet  from  the 

tipi  stopped,  and  the  whole  line 
halted.  She  deposited  the  skull  on 
the  ground  (See  Fig.  38),  and  the 
others  walked  forward  and  placed 
the  objects  they  were  carrying 
by  the  side  of  the  skull.  Then  all 
fell  back  about  twenty  feet  and 
sat  in  a  semi-circular  line  facing 
the  center  of  the  camp-circle  (see 
Fig.  39),  the  Lodge-maker  being 
FIG.  38.  Lodge-maker's  wife  depositing  at  the  south  end  (see  Fig.  40),  his 


the  buffalo  skull. 


wife  at  the  other. 


FIG.  39.     The  Lone-tipi  priests. 


PUBLIC  RITES  OF  THE  FORENOON. 

Before  proceeding  further  with  a  descrip 
tion  of  the  rites  about  to  follow,  it  is  ne 
cessary  to  relate  the  events  which  were 
publicly  performed  on  this  day,  especially 
those  which  have  to  do  with  the  erection 
of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge. 

COUNTING  COUP  AT  THE  SITE  OF  THE 
CENTER-POLE. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  Big-Baby  was 
charged  with  the  responsibility  of  the  per 
formance  of  certain  rites  in  connection  with 


FIG.  40.     The  Lodge-maker 
at  end  of  line  of  priests. 


.RIT-3i1OJ    3HT   DUiKQa/AaA    3T83iflS      JIVXX 


PL.  XXVII.    PRIESTS  ABANDONING  THE  LONE-TIPI. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   XXVII. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   XXVIII. 


PL.  XXVIII.    LEADERS  OF  SOCIETIES  IN  CEREMONIAL  ATTIRE. 


PL.  XXIX.    COUNTING  COUP  AT  SITE  OF  CENTER-POLE.    (MOONEY.) 


?•:" 


MAY,  iocs. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


109 


the  center  fork.  On  the  night  of  the  second  day  he  had  decided 
on  a  spot  suitable  for  the  center-pole  and  there  had  erected  a  few 
boughs.  Early  on  this  morning  the  two  old  spies,  Wolf-Face  and 
Mad-Robe,  rode  around  the  camp-site,  entered  the  camp-circle  at 
the  east  door,  and  rode  up  to  the  site  of  the  medicine-lodge  and 
struck  the  sticks  and  grass  which  had  been  erected  by  Big-Baby, 
each  first  relating  his  war  story.  This  is  supposed  to  awaken  enthu 
siasm  in  the  rest  of  the  tribe  to  go  after  the  lodge  poles.  By  striking 
the  boughs  each  indicated  that 
he  was  still  active  and  had 
struck  the  enemy  inside  of  his 
tipi.  One  of  these  two  spies, 
it  will  be  remembered,  is  sup 
posed  to  have  located  the  cen 
ter-pole  in  the  woods  and  to 
have  counted  coup  on  it.  In 
the  mean  time  all  the  members 
of  the  different  warrior  socie 
ties  had  been  assembling  at 
the  lodges  of  their  leaders,  all 
gayly  dressed  in  full  and  elab 
orate  costume,  or  in  the  spe 
cial  regalia  of  their  order,  and 
all  were  mounted  on  their  best 
ponies.  (See  PI.  XXVIII.) 
Those  who  had  been  warriors 
had  painted  their  horses  in 
appropriate  war  medicine 
paint.  As  fast  as  each  society 
was  ready,  the  members  entered  the  camp-circle  on  horseback, 
riding  at  full  speed  and  yelling  and  shouting.  Each  bore  a  long 
willow  pole  to  represent  a  lance,  and  a  shield  of  cottonwood 
boughs.  They  rode  directly  toward  the  site  of  the  center-pole,  passed 
on  and,  still  on  the  run,  counted  coup  on  the  boughs.  (See  PI. 
XXIX.)  Bands  of  women  gayly  attired  and  provided  with  long 
willows  also  counted  coup,  and  then  set  off  to  assist  the  men  in 
the  timber.  (See  Fig.  41.) 

TIMBERS  FOR  THE  SUN  DANCE  LODGE. 

All  the  poles  to  be  used  in  the  formation  of  the  lodge,  except 
the  center-pole,  are  brought  to  the  site  of  the  lodge  by  the  warrior 
societies,  each  society  being  supposed  to  bring  to  the  lodge  a  certain 


FIG.  41.     Women  with  head-dresses  and 
lances  of  willow.     (Mooney.) 


no     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


pole,  which  is  to  form  one  of  the  four  poles  to  be  decorated  and 
painted,  and  which  are  to  represent  the  four  medicine-spirits,  and 
in  addition  at  least  four  uprights  and  four  rafter  poles  and  four  cross 
beams.  Thus  the  Dew-claws  brought  in  a  pole  for  the  southeast, 
the  Coyotes  a  pole  for  the  southwest,  the  Red-Shields  a  pole  for  the 
northwest,  and  the  Dog-Men  a  pole  for  the  northeast.  All  timbers 
for  the  lodge  are  provided  on  the  day  of  its  erection,  and  the  assem 
bling  of  the  poles  by  the  societies  is  always  the  occasion  of  good  fellow 
ship  and  merriment. 

The  various  organizations,  after  they  had  counted  coup,  returned 
to  the  entrance  or  eastern  gateway  of  the  camp-circle  where,  still 
on  the  inside  of  the  circle,  they  turned  toward  the  south  and  paraded 
entirely  around  the  circle,  always  being  careful  to  pass  to  the  east 

of  the  Lone-tipi,  and  not 
between  it  and  the  camp- 
circle.  (See  Fig.  42.)  They 
continued  on  around  to  the 
west  and  north  to  the  en 
trance,  where  they  passed 
outside  of  the  circle  and 
made  another  circuit  of  the 
circle,  this  time  on  the  out 
side.  Then  they  returned 
to  the  northeast  corner  of 
the  circle  and  there  awaited 
the  other  warrior  societies. 
When  they  all  had  arrived 
they  went  to  the  timber  as 
before  to  bring  in  the  tim 
bers  for  the  lodge.  (See  Pis. 
XXX.  and  XXXI.) 

This  work  occupied  nearly  all  the  forenoon  and  was  accom 
panied  by  the  utmost  hilarity  and  enthusiasm.  After  a  sufficient 
number  of  the  timbers  had  been  brought  to  the  site  of  the  lodge, 
the  societies  gathered  in  groups,  some  in  tipis  especially  erected  near 
by  for  this  purpose,  and  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  Lodge-maker. 

THE  LODGE-MAKER  INVITES  THE  WARRIOR  SOCIETIES' 
ASSISTANCE. 

At  about  the  middle  of  the  afternoon  the  Lodge-maker  left  the 
Lone-tipi,  carrying  with  him  ten  pipes,  one  of  which  he  presented 
to  the  leader  of  each  of  the  warrior  societies,  which  were  now 


FIG.  42. 


A  warrior  society  en  route  to  the 
timber. 


PL.  XXX.    WARRIOR  SOCIETIES  PARADING. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.   XXX. 


PL.  XXXI.    BRINGING  IN  THE  TIMBERS  FOR  THE  LODGE. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   XXXI. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   XXXII. 


PL.  XXXII.    THE  LODGE-MAKER  INVITING  THE  SOCIETIES. 


PL.  XXXIII.    BUILDING  THE  SUN  DANCE  LODGE. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   XXXIV. 


PL.  XXXIV.    BUILDING  THE  SUN  DANCE  LODGE. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


i  r 


assembled  for  this  purpose  near 
the  center  of  the  camp-circle. 
(See  PL  XXXII.)  They  were 
accepted  and  the  smoking  of  the 
pipe  signified  their  willingness  to 
lend  their  assistance  in  erecting 
the  lodge.  The  leaders  of  the 
societies  began  to  step  off  the 
ground  from  the  right  of  the 
center  fork,  and  this  done,  to 
dig  the  holes  and  place  in  posi 
tion  the  outer  uprights  and  join 
them  by  cross-bars.  (See  Figs. 
43  and  44,  and  Plates  XXXIII. 
and  XXXIV.) 


FIG.  43.  Preparing  the  timbers  for  the  lodge. 


THE  CENTER-POLE. 

While  the  lodge  was  in  process  of  erection,  chiefs  were  securing 
the  center-pole,  for  chiefs  only  may  participate  in  bringing  the  pole 

to  the  camp-circle.  On  this 
day  they  themselves  selected 
one  of  their  number  and,  led 
by  him,  they  went  to  the  tim 
ber  where  a  tree  to  be  used  as 
the  center-pole  had  already 
been  selected.  Here  they 
halted  and  the  leader  talked 
to  the  tree  as  if  it  were  a 
person,  saying:  "The  whole 
world  has  picked  you  out 
this  day  to  represent  the 
world.  We  have  come  in  a 
body  for  this  purpose,  to 
cut  you  down,  so  that  you 
will  have  pity  on  all  men, 

children  who  may  take  part  in  this  ceremony. 
You  will  represent  the  sunshine  of 
all  the  world."  Another  chief,  necessarily  one  who  had  run 
an  enemy  through  with  a  knife  or  an  ax,  stepped  forth  and 
related  a  war  story  in  w^hich  he  told  how  he  had  performed 
such  a  deed;  then  he  struck  the  tree,  whereupon  the  younger 
and  more  active  chiefs  began  to  fell  the  tree.  Formerly 


FIG.  44.     Erecting  the  lodge. 

women,     and 

You    are   to   be   their   bodv. 


ii2     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


the  tree  was  dragged  to  its 
final  resting  -  place  by  lariat 
ropes,  but  in  recent  times,  at 
any  rate  during  the  two  cere 
monies  witnessed,  it  was 
brought  into  the  camp-circle 
on  a  wagon,  the  mounted  chiefs 
riding  behind  the  wagon.  (See 
Fig.  45.)  As  they  made  the 
journey  from  the  timber  to  the 
site  of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge,  they 
halted  four  times  for  the  four 
medicine-spirits,  and  as  they 
laid  the  tree  down  in  the  cen 
ter  of  the  lodge  it  corre 
sponded  to  the  sun. 


FIG.  45.     The  chiefs  bringing  in  the 
center-pole,  IQOI. 


THE  HOLE  FOR  THE  CENTER-POLE. 

The  right  to  dig  the  hole  for  the  center-pole  is  acquired  by  pay 
ment,  and  is  considered  worthy  of  attainment,  for  it  confers  certain 
privileges  and  honors.  Thus,  in  1903,  the  rite  was  performed  by 
Big-Baby,  who,  in  turn,  had  purchased  it  from  Left-Hand  Bull. 
(See  Figs.  46.)  The  privilege  was  transferred  at  the  close  of  the  rite 
by  Big-Baby  to  Shave-Head,  who  presented  Big-Baby  with  a  gun. 

After  the  pole  had  been  placed  in  the  lodge  by  the  chiefs,  the 
forked  end  being  directed  toward  the  west,  the  end  of  the  hole  was 
measured  by  means  of  a  small  twig  which  was  placed  on  the  ground 


FIG.  46.     Digging  the  hole  for  the  center-pole. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


where  the  hole  was  to  be 

located.       The    stick    was 

first  circled  over  the  earth, 

and    then    directed    to    it 

four  times,  and  then  to  a 

point    on    the     southeast; 

the  stick  was  directed  once 

for  each  of  the  other  three 

corners  and  again    circled 

over       the       center       and 

directed  four  times  for  the 

center.       Xext    the     stick 

was  placed  so  that  it  was 

directly  east  and  west,  and 

then  transversely  so  that  it  was  directly  north  and  south.     Thus   a 

cross,  inclosed  within  a  circle,  was  indicated,  and  there  the  hole  was 

dug  without  further  formality.     In  the  mean  time  Big-Baby  cut  off 

the  end  of  the  tree  to  make  it  the  right  length. 


47.     Spectators  making  offerings 


THE   COMPLETION   OF   THE   SUN   DANCE   LODGE. 

The  lodge  was  at  this  time  complete  except  the  center-pole,  one 
cross-bar  on  the  eastern  side,  and  the  reach,  or  rafter  poles.  The 

warrior  organizations 
were  present  in  groups 
and  the  whole  camp  was 
present  to  witness  the 
first  great  public  rite  of 
the  ceremony. 

Many  came  forward 
to  the  line  of  priests  (see 
Fig.  47)  carrying  bits  of 
calico,  which  later  were 
to  be  tied  on  the  cen 
ter-pole,  and  in  their 
hands  a  pipe  which 
they  offered  to  one  or 
another  of  the  priests, 
thus  asking  the  priests  to  pray  for  them.*  Many  also  came  and 
offered  bits  of  calico  to  the  skull,  holding  it  up  first  by  two  corners 

*In  presenting  their  pipes  to  the  various  priests  at  this  time  they  were  guided  in  their  selec 
tion  by  their  belief  in  the  individual  ability  of  the  priest  to  make  a  good  prayer  for  them,  and 
especially  by  the  life  which  the  priest  had  led. 


FIG.  48.     Making  an  offering  to  the  buffalo  skull. 


ii4     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


just  back  of  the  skull  and  praying  over  it.  (See  Fig.  48.)  Others 
came  up  to  the  skull  and  held  up  their  hands  over  it  and  prayed. 
(See  Fig.  49.)  This  rite,  including  the  offering  of  calico  to  the  lodge- 
pole  to  be  made  later,  and  the  offering  of  calico  to  the  skull,  is  in 
the  nature  of  a  prayer  that  their  children  may  grow  up  and  be  under 
the  favor  and  protection  of  the  medicine-spirits.  The  atmosphere 
of  the  whole  assembled  multitude  at  that  time  was  one  of  supreme 
religious  fervor  and  enthusiastic  happiness.  The  warrior  societies 

were  singing  encouraging 
songs,  and  .  in  another 
place  were  heard  the  chiefs 
beating  upon  the  drums 
and  singing,  while  one 
after  another  of  their 
number  arose  and  related 
some  episode  of  his  war 
experience. 

The  wives  and  rela 
tives  of  the  men  who  were 
to  dance  and  fast  in  the 
ceremony  began  to  ap 
proach  the  line  of  priests 
bearing  food  in  pans  and 


FIG.  49.     Priests  smoking  offering  pipes. 


pails.  The  Lodge-maker  took  a  piece  of  food  from  one  of  these 
vessels,  and  stepping  forward,  that  is,  toward  the  north  and  in  the 
direction  of  the  lodge,  he  held  it  aloft  and  dropped  it  upon  the  ground, 
thus  offering  it  to  the  medicine-spirits.  He  then  returned  to  the  line 
of  priests. 

PAINTING  THE  LODGE-POLES. 

The  Lodge-maker  was  joined  by  Bull-Tongue  and  they  together 
left  the  line  of  priests  and  went  toward  the  lodge,  where  they  made 
a  complete  circuit,  passing  beyond  the  reach  poles  which  radiated 
out  from  the  sides  of  the  lodge.  This  circuit  was  symbolic  of  the 
circular  symbol  which  was  reproduced  later  by  means  of  a  small 
black  circle  on  the  breast  of  the  dancers.  Again  they  began  to  circle 
the  lodge  and  its  outlying  poles.  Having  reached  the  southeast 
corner  of  the  lodge  they  encountered  one  of  the  four  reach  poles* 
which  had  been  decorticated  and  which  represented  the  medicine 
spirit  of  the  southeast.  Bull-Tongue  approached  it  at  its  base,  for  its 
small  end  was  directed  toward  the  lodge.  Here  Bull-Tongue  moved 

*  These  reach  poles  or  rafters  are  given  the  same  name  as  is  given  to  the  poles  of  a  tipi. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,  PL.  XXXV. 


PL.  XXXV.    PAINTING  THE  LODGE  POLES. 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY.   PL.   XXXVI 


PL.  XXXVI.    PAINTING  THE  LODGE  POLES. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


his  right  foot  toward  the  base  four  times  and  placed  his  foot  upon 
it;  then  he  stepped  aside,  and  his  movements  were  imitated  by 
the  Lodge-maker.  They  continued  on  around  the  lodge,  completing 
the  circuit.  Continuing,  they  stopped  at  the  southwest  reach  pole, 
where  they  went  through  the  same  motion  again,  Bull-Tongue  first, 
the  Lodge-maker  following,  as  before.  Then  they  made  the  fifth 
and  last  circuit  of  the  lodge.  This  time  they  halted  at  the  north 
east  reach  pole,  where  the  same  movements  were  performed.  Thus 
they  had  made  five  complete  circuits  of  the  lodge,  their  movements 
having  the  same  symbolism  as  the  forming  of  the  "earth"  with  the 
thumb  in  the  Lone-tipi.  At  the  first  pole  they  made  one  step,  at 
the  second  pole  two  steps,  etc.,  four  steps  being  made  at  the  fourth 
pole.  From  the  northeast  pole  they  continued  toward  the  east, 
where,  at  the  entrance  of  the  lodge,  they  turned  in  and  approached 
the  base  of  the  center-pole,  which  at  this  time  was  lying  by  the  side 
of  the  hole  which  had  been  excavated  to  receive  it.  Here  Bull- 
Tongue  moved  his  foot  toward  the  base  four  times,  then  stepped 
upon  it  and  walked  five  steps.  Then  he  stepped  back  while  the 
same  movements  were  gone  through  with  by  the  Lodge-maker.  They 
then  passed  outside  of  the  lodge  and  returned  to  the  line  of  priests. 
Bull-Tongue  and  the  Lodge-maker,  carrying  black  and  red  paint, 
again  left  the  line  of  the  priests  and  approached  the  lodge  toward 
the  southeast  reach  pole.  (See  Plates  XXXV.  and  XXXVI.)  Bull- 
Tongue  lay  down  on  the  grftund  and  placed  his  right  arm  at  the 
base  of  the  pole  and  extended  his  left  arm  upward  on  the  pole  as 
far  as  he  could  reach.  He 
then  moved  his  body  up 
toward  the  pole  until  the 
center  of  his  breast  was  ex 
actly  over  the  point  of  the 
pole  indicated  by  the  fingers 
of  his  left  hand.  From  this 
point  he  measured  to  the  tip 
of  forefinger  of  his  out 
stretched  left  hand.  (See 
Fig.  50.)  Having  thus 
measured  off  on  the  pole  one 
and  a  half  times  his  total 
finger  reach,  he  laid  his  right 
hand  on  the  pole  at  this 
point  and  extended  his 
thumb  upward  and  placed  FIG.  50.  Painting  the  center-pole. 


u6     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

his  left  hand  still  further  up  on  the  pole,  the  thumb  of  the  left  hand 
being  outstretched  and  in  contact  with  the  thumb  of  his  right  hand. 
This  was  to  represent  the  width  of  the  band  to  be  painted  by  the 
Lodge-maker,  who  then  stepped  forward  and  rubbed  his  hands  in 
the  black  paint,  rubbed  them  together  and  made  four  passes  toward 
the  pole.  Then  he  first  lightly  rubbed  the  pole  at  this  point  and  then 
painted  a  band  entirely  around  the  pole.  They  turned  toward  the 
west  and  went  to  the  southwest  pole,  which  was  again  measured  by 
Bull-Tongue,  as  was  the  first  pole.  The  location  of  the  place  to  be 
painted  having  been  found,  it  was  also  painted  black  by  the  Lodge- 
maker.  They  passed  around  the  lodge  to  the  pole  on  the  northwest 
corner,  which  was  again  measured  and  painted  as  before,  red 
being  used  instead  of  black.  They  went  to  the  northeast  pole, 
which  was  measured  as  those  preceding,  and  painted.  Thus  the 
lodge  bore  the  same  symbolism,  theoretically,  as  the  so-called 
scalp  or  piece  of  jerked  meat  which  was  to  be  placed  in  the 
center-pole,  and  was  symbolic  of  the  earth  divided  into  day  and 
night. 

Bull-Tongue  and  the  Lodge-maker  continued  around  the  lodge 
in  sunwise  circuit  until  they  came  to  the  east  entrance ;  here  they 
entered  and  Bull-Tongue  threw  himself  by  the  side  of  the  center- 
pole  and  measured  as  before.  The  band  beneath  his  outstretched 
hands  was  painted  red  by  the  Lodge-maker,  who  moved  his  hands 
four  times  toward  the  pole  be.fore  he  pointed  it.  Then  Bull-Tongue 
measured  with  his  two  hands  a  space  equal  in  width  just  above  this 
red  band,  and,  taking  the  ball  of  black  paint,  the  Lodge-maker 
besmeared  his  hands  with  it  and  painted  a  black  band.  Thus  was 
added  to  the  sun  and  full  moon  symbolism  of  the  center  fork  the 
symbols  of  day  and  night,  or,  according  to  another  informant,  of 
the  earth  and  the  heavens.  The  center-pole  now  is  called  variously 
the  enemy,  the  backbone,  and  the  cleansing  pole. 

THE'FORK  OF  THE  CENTER-POLE. 

Bundles  of  dogwood  brush  were  carried  down  to  the  fork  of  the 
center-pole.  Certain  Sun  Dance  priests  left  their  position  in  the 
line  and  went  to  that  point.  Bull-Tongue  took  hold  of  the  fork 
and  turned  it  so  that  the  prongs  of  the  fork  projected  upward  and 
downward  and  at  right  angles  to  the  earth.  Bull-Tongue  took  the 
Lodge-maker's  hands  in  his,  made  four  movements  toward  the  first 
bundle  of  dogwood  brush,  and  the  latter  took  it  up,  and  turning 
it  so  that  the  butts  projected  north,  made  four  movements  with 
it  and  placed  it  in  the  fork.  Another  bundle  was  picked  up  with 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.  XXXVII. 


PL.  XXXVII.    THE  EARTH-PEG  AND  THE  THUNDER-BIRD'S  NEST. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


the  same  movements  and  placed  in  the  fork,  the  butts  being  directed 
toward  the  south.  (See  Fig.  51.)  Several  additional  bundles  were 
taken  up  and  placed  in  the  fork,  the  butt  of  the  third  bundle  being 
directed  toward  the  north,  that  of  the  fourth  toward  the  south,  and 
so  on,  the  same  movements  being  performed  each  time.  A  larger 
bundle  of  cottonwood  was  taken  up  in  similar  manner  and  placed 
in  the  fork  on  top  of  the  dogwood  brush,  the  base  being  directed 
toward  the  north.  A  second  bundle  of  cottonwood  was  taken  up  in 


FIG.  51.     Placing  the  brush  in  the  fork  of  the  center- pole. 

like  manner  and  placed  so  that  the  butts  were  directed  toward  the 
south.     Over  these  were  placed  other  bundles  of  dogwood. 

The  Lodge-maker  took  up  a  rope  and  the  rawhide  lariat  which 
had  been  made  in  the  Lone-tipi  and  tied  the  bundles  firmly  into 
the  fork,  using  first  the  rope,  and  covering  the  wrappings  with  the 
rawhide  lariat.*  This  lariat  was  fastened  in  a  peculiar  manner  and 
its  various  wrappings  collectively  were  said  to  form  the  image  or 
symbol  of  the  morning  star.  Bull-Tongue  and  the  Lodge-maker 
took  up  the  digging  stick,  or  earth-peg,  made  four  passes  with  it, 
and  thrust  it  through  the  bundle  of  foliage  (see  PL  XXXVII.) ;  then 
one  of  the  priests  took  the  damaged  arrow  and  thrust  it  into  the 
bundle  from  the  under  side,  where  it  remained  with  the  piece  of  dried 
meat,  which  represented  a  buffalo.  To  the  fork  near  this  point 
the  small  rawhide  human  image  was  next  attached. f  Formerly  a 
live  captive,  it  is  said,  was  suspended  here  as  a  sacrifice.  Many 

*The  whole  bundle  of  vegetation  represented  the  nest  of  the  Thunder-Bird  who  controls  the 
sun  and  the  rain.  Hence  clouds  and  hailstones  are  painted  on  the  dancer's  body  later  in  the  cere 
mony.  The  Thunder-Bird  is  also  considered  the  chief  of  all  birds,  and  is  thought  to  be  the  chief 
medicine  spirit  of  the  west. 

fin  1 90 1  a  rawhide  image  of  a  buffalo  was  also  suspended  here 


n8     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


FIG.  52.     Making  offerings  to  the  fork  of  the  center-pole. 

from  the  crowd  of  spectators,  especially  women,  came  forward  and 
tied  at  various  points  of  the  center-pole  small  offerings  of  calico 
representing  prayers.  (See  Fig.  52.)  The  wife  of  the  Lodge-maker, 
under  the  guidance  of  the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  made  four  passes 
(see  Fig.  53),  picked  up  the  sacred  pipe,  and  moved  forward  to  a  point 
half-way  down  the  length  of  the  center-pole. 

RAISING  THE  CENTER-POLE. 

By  this  time  all  the  priests  were  present  in  line,  and  the  members 
of  the  warriors'  societies  had  gathered  around  the  pole.  The  priests 
with  their  wives  were  in  two  lines  by  the  side  of  the  pole.  All  re- 


FIG.  53.     Lodge-maker's  wife  picking  up  the  pipe. 


FIELD  COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   XXXVIII. 


PL.  XXXVIII.    RAISING  THE  CENTER-POLE. 


PL.  XXXIX.    RAISING  THE  CENTER-POLE. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


119 


ceived  the  spittle  on  their  hands  in  the  usual  manner  from  one  or 
another  of  the  priests  who  had  the  authority  to  perform  this  rite. 
Then  the  lines  were  reformed, 
and  as  the  wife  of  the  Lodge- 
maker  raised  the  sacred  pipe 
in  front  of  her,  they  sang  the 
first  traditional  song.  At  the 
end  of  the  song  she  again 
raised  the  pipe  aloft  and  the 
warriors  took  hold  of  the  pole, 
shouted,  and  dragged  the  pole 
forward  a  little,  so  that  its 
base  rested  nearer  the  pole. 
Then  the  second  song  was 
sung,  the  participantsmaintain- 
ing  the  same  relative  position. 


FIG.  54.     Raising  the  center-pole. 


Again  the  Lodge-maker's  wife 
raised  the  pipe  aloft,  the  war 
riors  shouted  and  moved  the  pole  slightly  forward.  The  third  song 
followed  in  the  same  manner,  and  with  the  same  action.  Then  began 
the  fourth  song,  at  the  end  of  which  all  shouted  vociferously  and 
raised  the  pole  until  it  was  in  an  upright  position,  and  then  lowered  it 
into  the  hole.  (See  Plates  XXXVIII.  and  XXXIX.,  and  Fig.  54.) 


FIG.  55.     Completing  the  Sun  Dance  lodge. 


20     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


The  songs  are  said  to  relate  to  the  growing  earth.  Thus  in  the 
song  the  pipe  was  directed  to  the  great  medicine-spirit  overhead, 
who  took  it  to  the  four  medicine-spirits,  who  drew  to  it  the  light 

by  the  light  of  the  day.  The  medicine- 
spirit  of  the  north,  who  smoked  the  pipe  in 
the  night,  received  it  first,  and  the  medi 
cine-spirit  of  the  east  is  supposed  to  finish  it. 

THE  COMPLETION  OF  THE  LODGE. 

The  warriors,  with  the  greatest  enthu- 

p^._  _f  «^  siasm    and    rivalry,   lifted    the    remaining 

ll|  %jP^/  <&r  i  cross-bar  into  place,  and  then  the  sixteen 

rafters  or  reach-poles  were  placed  in  posi 
tion,  over  which  they  spread  canvas  tipis.* 
This  work,  owing  to  the  great  eagerness 
of  the  men,  consumed  an  almost  incredibly 
short  space  of  time,  during  which  the 
Sun  Dance  priests,  who  had  retired  a  short 
way  toward  the  south  after  the  raising  of 
the  center  fork,  remained  seated.  It  was  then  half-past  five  o'clock. 


FIG.  56.     The  Lodge-maker's 
wife  carrying  the  skull. 


THE  PRIESTS  ENTER  THE  LODGE. 

When  the  lodge  had  been  completed,  the  Chief  Priest  with  his 
two  hands  took  the  two  hands  of  the  Lodge-maker's  wife  and  caused 
her  to  make  four  passes  toward  the 
skull  and  then  pick  it  up.  (See  Fig. 
56.)  She  started  in  a  stooping  posture, 
and  carried  it  slowly  and  deliberately 
by  way  of  the  south  to  the  east  of  the 
entrance  of  the  lodge,  where  she 
stopped,  motioned  the  skull  four 
times,  and  proceeded  into  the  lodge  by 
way  of  the  south,  until  she  came  to 
a  point  half-way  between  the  wall  cf 
the  lodge  and  the  center-pole.  There 
she  stopped,  motioned  the  skull  four 
times  toward  the  ground,  and  put  it 
down,  groaning  all  the  while  as  if  in 
travail.  The  Chief  Priest,  just  after 
she  had  taken  up  the  skull,  took  up 


FIG.  57.     The  priests  entering  the 
Sun  Dance  lodge,  1901. 


*Formerly  brave   warriors  vied   among  themselves  for  the  privilege  of  using  their  valuable 
buffalo  skin  tipis  for  this  purpose    which,  of  course,  after  the  ceremony  were  useless. 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.  XL. 


l.M':t.:c       ' 


PL.  XL.    THE  PRIESTS  ENTERING  THE  SUN  DANCE  LODGE. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


121 


the  bundle,  while  the  other  priest  took  up  the  objects  which 
they  had  brought  with  them  from  the  lodge.  They  followed  the  wo 
man  into  the  lodge  (see  PL  XL.  and  Fig.  57)  and  placed  the  objects 
by  the  side  of  the  skull.  The  long-handled  fire-spoon  was  placed 
about  three  feet  south  of  the  skull.  Big-Baby  and  another  priest  re 
moved  the  sage  head-dress  from  the  Lodge-maker  and  his  wife. 
They  also  removed  from  the  latter  the  belt,  thus  loosening  the  buffalo 
robe  which  she  had  gathered  over  her  shoulders.  The  belt  was  placed 
by  the  side  of  the  skull  on  the  east  side,  and  the  sage  wreaths  were 
placed  at  the  foot  of  the  center-pole. 

EVENING   RITES   IN   THE   SUN   DANCE   LODGES. 
REHEARSAL  AND  INFORMAL  SMOKING. 

In  the  mean  time  a  big  crowd  of  women  and  children  had  gathered, 
and  one  of  the  warrior  societies  had  assembled  in  the  southeast  of 
the  lodge  around  a  large  drum.  (See  Fig.  58.)  This  place,  it  may 
be  mentioned,  was  hereafter  occupied  by  the  musicians,  including 
the  drummers  and  singers.  The  priests  had  gathered  in  a  circle 
south  and  west  of  the  skull,  where  they  engaged  in  informal  smoking. 
During  this  time  the  Lodge-maker  sat  in  front  of  Big-Baby,  who 
took  a  bunch  of  sage  and  rubbed  it  upon  those  portions  of  the  Lodge- 
maker's  body  which  had  been  painted  black.  Black-Man,  the  priest 
who  had  painted  the  wife  of  the  Lodge-maker,  performed  the  same 
office  for  her.  The  Lodge-maker  took  the  bunches  of  sage  which 
had  been  used  in  this  operation  and  placed  them  upon  the  wreaths 


FIG.  58.     Musicians  within  the  Sun  Dance  lodge. 


122     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

of  sage  which  they  had  worn  on  their  bodies,  and  deposited  all  at 
the  foot  of  the  center-pole.  Roman-Nose  lighted  a  pipe  and  pointed 
the  stem  to  the  southeast,  southwest,  northwest,  northeast,  to  the 
four  rafter  poles  which  had  been  painted,  toward  the  center-pole, 
the  skull  and  the  ground,  and  handed  the  pipe  to  the  Lodge-maker, 
who  smoked  and  passed  it  along  the  line  of  priests.  The  wife  of 
the  Lodge-maker  at  this  time  wore  only  her  calico  dress,  which  she 
had  kept  on  and  arranged  in  the  form  of  loose  trunks  beneath  her 
buffalo  robe  in  the  Lone-tipi  at  noon.  During  this  time  the  chiefs 
were  at  the  drum  rehearsing.  Some  of  their  number  arose  and  sang 
a  song,  at  the  end  of  which  they  sat  down.  The  priests  continued 
smoking  until  they  had  consumed  four  pipes. 

THE  DEDICATION  OF  THE  LODGE. 

The  chiefs  and  singers  about  the  drum  all  arose,  holding  the  drum 
in  their  midst  and  singing.  The  crowd  within  and  without  the 
lodge  was  very  dense;  all  were  standing.  The  Lodge-maker  took  a 
filled  pipe  to  the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  who  laid  the  pipe  down, 
touched  his  ringer  to  the  ground,  to  his  tongue,  took  a  bite  of  root, 
spat,  and  picked  up  the  pipe,  motioned  the  stem  to  the  four  rafter 
poles  in  the  usual  order,  to  the  center-pole,  to  the  skull,  and  to  the 
ground.  He  lighted  the  pipe  and  again  offered  the  stem  to  the  four 
lodge  poles,  to  the  center-pole,  to  the  skull,  and  to  the  ground.  He 
offered  the  stem  to  the  Lodge-maker,  kneeling  in  front  of  him,  who 
took  four  whiffs,  blowing  the  fourth  whiff  into  his  two  hands,  which 
he  rubbed  together  and  over  his  body.  The  pipe  was  then  passed 
along  the  line  of  priests.  The  musicians  began  the  third  song.  The 
crowd,  for  all  in  camp  were  glad  to  express  their  joy  that  so  much 
had  been  done  and  that  the  lodge  was  complete,  was  denser  than 
ever,  all  being  attired  in  their  gayest  costumes.  The  number  of 
buckskin  garments  that  were  worn  was  surprisingly  great,  and  the 
warriors  all  wore  appropriate  head-dresses,  many  of  them  wearing 
the  long  eagle  feather  war  bonnets,  while  others  wore  shields.  The 
warrior  societies,  in  a  semblance  of  order,  filed  around  the  center-pole, 
many  of  them  being  on  horseback.  At  the  beginning  of  the  fourth 
song  the  warriors  took  their  proper  places  by  societies  and  formed 
in  lines,  extending  half-way  around  the  north  side  of  the  lodge,  and 
danced  up  and  down,  shouting  and  yelling.  The  women  pressed 
about  the  drummers  and  crowded  all  sides  of  the  lodge,  and  with 
their  shrill  cries  encouraged  them.  As  the  fifth  song  began  others 
crowded  into  the  lodge,  and  the  warriors  and  others  again  circled 
around  the  center-pole,  this  time  three  rows  deep,  all  carrying  guns 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


123 


or  clubs.  Then  followed  a  period  of  considerable  confusion,  with 
much  rejoicing  and  gayety  on  the  part  of  the  great  crowd,  while 
the  four  head  chiefs  went  through  the  ancient  performance  of  select 
ing  certain  men  for  certain  positions,  the  basis  of  the  selection  being 
supposed  to  depend  upon  the  part  which  they  had  taken  in  the 
various  sham  battles  which  had  taken  place  while  they  were  count 
ing  coup  on  the  site  of  the  center-pole  or  otherwise  in  erecting  the 
lodge.  As  each  man  was  chosen  he  was  brought  forward  near  the 
center-pole,  and  his  relatives  gave  away  presents  to  express  their 
joy  at  the  honor  shown  to  their  family.  (See  Fig.  59.)  One  of 


FIG.  59.     The  chiefs  selecting  leaders. 

the  four  head  chiefs,  who  had  led  war  parties  and  who  had  assisted 
in  selecting  the  warriors,  addressed  the  chosen  men  as  follows:  "We 
have  picked  you  because  we  know  you  are  brave.  We  have  brought 
you  here.  We  have  picked  you  so  that  the  people  may  see  you, 
so  that  the  people  may  know  you  are  brave.  We  have  picked  you 
out  for  some  particular  purpose.  In  times  of  war  or  hardship  we 
want  you  to  stand  by  your  people  and  to  protect  them,  especially 
the  women  and  children.  In  times  of  famine  do  not  pass  by  your 
people,  but  help  them."  As  the  warrior  societies  entered  the  lodge 
they  went  around  toward  the  south;  as  they  departed,  after  this 
dedication  ceremony,  they  halted  four  times,  the  four  pauses  repre 
senting  the  four  societies  and  paving  the  way  for  the  dance. 


124     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

At  the  end  of  the  performance  the  crowd  inside  the  lodge  was 
very  great.  The  drumming  and  singing  was  resumed  and  the  crowd 
moved  backward  toward  the  entrance,  their  faces  being  directed 
toward  the  center-pole.  The  musicians  continued  to  drum  and  sing. 
The  crowd  advanced  toward  the  center-pole,  their  faces  always 
directed  toward  the  west,  four  times,  the  intervals  between  the 
singing  being  occupied  by  shouting  and  yelling. 

The  dedication  ceremony  of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge  was  now  con 
cluded,  and  there  followed  an  intermission,  during  which  nearly  all 
left  for  their  evening  meal,  the  priests  and  those  immediately  con 
cerned  in  the  ceremony  remaining. 

PREPARATION. 

During  the  intermission,  which  lasted  from  the  conclusion  of  the 
dedication  until  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening,  a  large  pile  of  wood 
was  placed  just  inside  of  the  lodge  near  the  entrance  in  the  north 
east.  A  bed  had  been  erected  on  the  south  side  of  the  tipi  next 
to  the  wall,  consisting  of  willow  mattress  with  willow  leanbacks  and 
blankets.  (See  Plate  XLI.)  A  rawhide  folded  roughly  in  the  form  of 
a  parflesh  was  brought  into  the  lodge  by  one  of  the  priests  and  placed 
at  the  foot  of  the  center-pole  on  the  south  side.  Slowly  the  priests 
returned  to  the  lodge  and  took  up  a  position  in  a  semi-circle  on  the 
south  side,  half-way  between  the  wall  of  the  lodge  and  the  center- 
pole,  which  they  faced.  Members  of  the  warrior  societies  also  re 
turned  in  increasing  numbers  and  a  crowd  of  drummers  and  singers 
gathered  about  a  large  drum  in  the  southeast  of  the  lodge.*  One 
of  the  old  warriors  arose  and  related  a  war  story,  in  order  that  the 
fire  might  be  rebuilt.  It  was  lighted  and  wood  was  thrown  upon 
it  at  the  conclusion  of  the  war  tale,  whereupon  the  drummers  beat 
upon  the  drum  and  shouted. 

THE  DANCERS  ASSEMBLE. 

Immediately  after,  the  Crier  was  heard  outside  calling  for  the 
members  of  the  Dew-claw  Rattle  society,  who,  as  already  noted, 
were  to  begin  dancing  and  fasting  on  this  night.  Soon  they  began 
to  enter  the  lodge,  singly  or  in  stria.. i  groups,  each  having  been  painted 
and  properly  costumed  in  his  own  tipi.  Each  one  bore  the  usual 
Sun  Dance  whistle,  made  of  the  win  r  bone  of  an  eagle,  suspended 
upon  his  breast  from  a  buckskin  thcng  passing  around  his  neck. 
Each  also  wore  on  his  head  a  wreath  of  sage,  and  all  were  com 
pletely  painted,  even  to  the  feet,  with  white  earth. 

*Formerly  it  is  said,  each  musician  was  provided  with  a  small  hand  drum,  such  as  the  medi 
cine  men  use  now. 


PL.  XLI.    THE  BED  OF  THE   LODGE-MAKER'S  WIFE. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  125 

As  each  priest  entered  the  lodge  he  went  to  the   Chief  Priest, 
who     touched     his     finger     to    the    ground,    took    a    bite    of    root, 
and   spat  upon  the  new-comer's  hands   five   times,  the   latter  rub 
bing  his  hands    and  pass 
ing  them    over   his   body. 

^_- _^  He  was  thus  prepared  to 

''^&  °f  DAA<C^\       o  take  part  in  the  rites  which 

were  to  follow.    The  Lodge- 

•  ,..s  0        maker   and    his  wife  were 

!™L«)  the  last  to  receive  the  rite 

\-  V?  from     the      Chief     Priest. 

<  •  "     Fully  an  hour  was  consumed 

jj  CtMTERPOLE  J — ^ 

^  in    the    assembling   of  the 

»  priests    and    the    dancers. 

•  nit 

The    relative    position    at 

<x  this    time    of    the    priests 

XX^OF  DAr^c^S-"         c  who  had  formed  in  a  circle, 

and  the  dancers,  may    be 
seen  in  the  diagram.     (See 
FIG.  60.     Diagram  of  lodge.  Fig.  60.) 

FILLING  THE  SACRED  PIPE. 

The  Lodge-maker  followed  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  to  the 
bundle,  which  was  lying  by  the  side  of  the  skull.  They  opened  the 
bundle  and  took  out  a  piece  of  sinew  and  the  Lodge-maker  took 
up  the  bag  of  incense  which  was  lying  by  the  skull.  The  two  re 
turned  to  the  Chief  Priest,  who  occupied  a  position  to  the  north 
east  of  the  center-pole  and  near  the  circle  of  priests.  The  Lodge- 
maker  put  the  bag  of  incense  down  and  his  hands  were  again  treated 
in  the  usual  manner  by  the  Chief  Priest.  The  Lodge-maker  again 
went  to  the  bundle  and  brought  the  ceremonial  straight  pipe,  while 
the  assistant  Chief  Priest  untied  the  bag  of  tobacco.  The  Lodge- 
maker  then  spread  out  a  corner  of  his  robe  upon  the  palm  of  his  left 
hand,  and  making  four  passes  toward  the  tobacco  sack,  took  up  a 
pinch  of  tobacco.  Thereafter  the  pipe  was  filled  in  the  same  manner 
as  already  described,  the  pipe  being  held  upright  by  the  Chief  Priest, 
and  the  sinew  being  added  by  the  assistant  Chief  Priest.  Then  the 
tampers  were  prepared;  one  was  wrapped  with  the  buffalo  wool  and 
in  the  manner  already  described  the  tobacco  was  tamped.  The 
Lodge-maker  then  made  four  passes  toward  the  pipe  with  both  hands, 
took  it  from  the  Chief  Priest  and  placed  it  horizontally  on  the  ground. 
He  then  moved  it  back  to  its  original  position  by  the  side  of  the 


126     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

buffalo  skull,  halting  four  times  on  the  way,  and  placed  the  tampers 
between  the  skull  and  the  pipe. 

THURIFICATION. 

The  assistant  Chief  Priest  and  the  Lodge-maker  took  their  places 
in  the  circle  of  the  priests.  The  Lodge-maker  soon  left  his  place 
and  got  the  fire-spoon  and  without  formality  took  a  coal  from  the 
fire,  carried  it  slowly  in  a  stooping  manner  and  placed  it  just  under 
neath  the  tip  of  the  jaw  of  the  skull.  He  sat  down  upon  his  heels 
with  his  right  knee  drawn  up  in  front  of  him.  He  made  four  passes 
toward  the  bag  of  incense  lying  by  the  side  of  the  skull,  and  took 
a  pinch  from  it  in  his  fingers. 

First  Songs. 

The  priests  began  a  slow  chant,  the  first  of  several  groups  of 
traditional  sacred  songs  which  recount  the  origin  of  the  ceremony, 
and  which  are  supposed  to  be  of  great  potency  in  bringing  about 
a  new  life  and  freedom  from  disease  and  famine.  During  this  song 
the  Lodge-maker  held  the  incense  straight  out  in  front  of  his  body 
in  his  right  hand,  his  elbow  resting  upon  his  right  knee.  He  main 
tained  this  same  position  during  the  second  song  and  also  during 
the  third.  As  the  fourth  song  commenced  he  began  to  lower  his 
hand  and  arm  slowly  and  gradually  toward  the  skull,  until  at  the 
end  of  the  song  his  hand  rested  just  over  the  coal.  He  opened  his 
fingers  and  placed  the  incense  upon  the  coal,  thus  sacrificing  to  the 
four  medicine-spirits  and  the  sun.  He  resumed  his  place  in  the  circle. 

Second  Songs. 

Again  the  Lodge-maker  received  the  spittle  in  his  hands  from 
the  Chief  Priest,  arose  and  went  to  the  skull  and  resumed  his  posi 
tion  as  before  by  the  side  of  the  skull.  He  then  made  four  passes 
toward  the  bag  of  incense  and  took  from  it  another  pinch.  They 
began  another  song,  during  which  time  he  gradually  lowered  his 
hand  toward  the  coal,  his  elbow  this  time  not  resting  upon  his  knee, 
and  placed  the  incense  upon  the  coal.  He  resumed  his  position  in 
the  circle  of  the  priests,  who  had  not  yet  finished  the  song.  While 
they  were  singing  the  dancers  left  the  lodge  for  a  moment.  By  the 
end  of  the  second  song  of  this  second  set  the  dancers  had  returned. 

Then  followed  the  third  song,  without  movement  on  the  part  of 
any  one.  As  the  fourth  song  began  the  Lodge-maker  arose  and 
handed  the  rattles  which  had  been  lying  near  the  buffalo  skull  to  the 
priests.  During  this  time  the  dancers  were  trying  their  whistles 
to  see  if  they  were  in  proper  condition. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  127 

THE   RAWHIDE   PARFLESH. 

At  the  end  of  the  fourth  song  of  the  second  set,  the  Lodge- 
maker  and  Black-Man  went  by  way  of  the  south  to  the  rawhide. 
The  priest  took  the  Lodge-maker's  hands,  drew  them  toward  the 
rawhide  four  times,  and  the  Lodge-maker  took  the  rawhide  and  held 
it  out  in  front  and  to  one  side,  its  lower  edge  resting  on  the  ground. 

Third  Songs. 

The  priests  sang  the  first  song  of  the  third  group,  during  which 
Black-Man  and  the  Lodge-maker  slowly  advanced  the  rawhide  by 
the  corner  as  before.  At  the  end  of  the  song  they  stopped,  but  con 
tinued  to  hold  the  rawhide.  During  the  singing  of  the  second  song 
they  advanced  slowly.  The  third  song  was  begun  and  they  con 
tinued,  still  keeping  the  rawhide  on  edge  and  near  the  ground.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  fourth  song  they  were  very  close  to  the  circle 
of  priests,  and  as  the  end  of  the  song  approached  the  Lodge-maker 
moved  the  rawhide  back  and  forth  toward  them  four  times,  and  as 
they  reached  the  end  of  the  song  he  threw  it  in  among  them,  and  they 
beat  upon  it  with  their  long-handled  drum  stick  rattles  rapidly  and 
without  unison.* 

The  Lodge-maker  without  formality  filled  two  ordinary  pipes, 
which  he  started  about  the  circle  of  priests,  and  they  engaged  in 
smoking. 

HAND  AND  ARM  DRILL. 

During  this  time  the  dancers,  who  had  remained  in  two  semi 
circles  on  the  southeast  and  northeast  sides  of  the  lodge,  arose  and 
adjusted  their  kilts.  The  priests  continued  to  smoke  and  the  dancers, 
having  made  sure  that  they  were  in  readiness,  sat  down. 

Fourth  Songs. 

The  priests  again  beat  with  their  long-handled  rattles  upon  the 
rawhide  and  began  the  first  of  the  fourth  set  of  songs.  During  this 
time  Black-Man  secured  the  wreath  of  sage  from  the  place  it  had 
been  occupying  at  the  foot  .of  the  center-pole,  and  arranged  it  on  the 
Lodge-maker's  head,  first  circling  it  over  and  moving  it  toward  his 
head  four  times.  The  Lodge-maker  handed  him  his  whistle  and 
Black-Man  also  circled  it  over  his  head  once  and  motioned  it  toward 
his  head  four  times  and  placed  the  carrying  thong  about  the  Lodge- 
maker's  neck.  At  the  end  of  the  first  song  one  of  the  priests  arose 

*This  rite  represents  the  raising  and  calling  of  the  buffalo.  The  noise  made  by  the  priests  as 
they  beat  on  the  rawhide  with  their  rattles  represents  the  sound  made  by  the  hoofs  of  the  buffalo 
as  they  left  the  cave,  according  to  the  myth.  All  songs  are  believed  to  be  efficacious  in  drawing 
the  buffalo  to  the  lodge. 


128     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

and  made  a  short  prayer.  Again  the  priests  began  beating  upon 
the  rawhide  with  the  long  rattles  and  started  the  second  song,  during 
which,  as  during  the  first  song,  they  continued  beating  the  raw 
hide,  but  not  keeping  time  with  the  song.  At  the  end  of  this  song 
another  priest  got  up  and  made  a  spirited  prayer,  asking  that  the 
priests  might  be  guided  aright  by  the  medicine-spirits.  The  third 
song  was  begun,  at  the  end  of  which  was  another  prayer,  and  the 
fourth  song  followed,  with  the  same  irregular  accompaniment  of  the 
rattles.  At  the  end  of  each  of  these  four  songs,  as  well  as  at  the 
end  of  each  of  the  prayers,  some  one  outside  the  lodge  gave  a  cry 
imitating  that  of  the  wolf. 

Again  followed  a  brief  intermission,  during  which  the  Lodge- 
maker  filled  two  ordinary  pipes  as  before,  one  of  which  was  handed 
to  the  priests  and  smoked  around  the  circle,  he  and  Black-Man 
smoking  the  other  one.  At  the  end  of  the  informal  smoking  some 
one  called  out  and  the  dancers  on  both  sides  arose,  those  on  the 
north  side  of  the  lodge  moving  around  toward  the  south  until  the 
end  of  the  north  line  joined  the  north  end  of  the  south  line. 

This  was  the  first  opportunity  to  judge  of  the  number  of  men 
who  were  to  feast  and  dance  during  the  ceremony,  and  it  was  found 
that  there  were  thirty-nine  in  the  line.  Of  this  number  all  were 
members  of  the  Dew-claw  organization  except  Bull-Tongue,  who 
had  made  a  vow  to  fast  and  undergo  torture  to  restore  his  wife  to 
health,  and  two  Arapaho,  the  reason  for  whose  presence  has  already 
been  noted. 

Fifth  Songs. 

The  priests  began  the  first  of  the  fifth  series  of  songs,  while  the 
dancers  began  the  first  movement  of  the  so-called  "hand  and  arm 
drill."  Placing  their  whistles  in  their  mouths  they  raised  their 
right  arms  toward  the  center-pole  and  slowly  lowered  them.  This 
they  did  six  times,  the  palm  of  the  hand  being  held  downward  each 
time.  Again  they  raised  their  hands  toward  the  center-pole  and 
lowered  them  slowly  for  the  seventh  time,  accompanying  the  move 
ment  by  whistling  long  and  loud.  The  line  turned  on  itself.  The 
south  extremity  started  toward  the  north  and  in  front  of  the  line 
of  dancers,  until  there  were  two  equal  lines  on  the  north  side  of 
the  lodge.  The  rattling  began,  followed  by  the  second  song,  and 
the  dancers  slowly  raised  and  lowered  their  left  hands  toward  the 
center-pole,  keeping  the  palm  side  down.  This  movement  was  per 
formed  eight  times.  Black-Man  now  stood  at  their  head  as  leader 
and  dancer.  Led  by  Black-Man  the  inner  line  turned  back  toward 
the  south  again,  where  the  dancers  formed  in  two  lines,  and  during 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  129 

the  singing  of  the  third  song,  accompanied  as  before  by  the  irregular 
rattling,  they  performed  the  right  arm  movement  as  during  the  first 
song.  Then  they  went  back  to  the  north  side,  where  the  same 
movements  were  performed  eight  times  with  the  left  arm.  During 
the  fourth  song  the  criers  outside  were  calling  for  the  relatives  of 
the  dancers. 

Sixth  Songs. 

Led  by  Black-Man,  they  went  back  to' the  south  side  of  the  lodge 
and  faced  the  center-pole,  raising  the  right  arm  four  times.  Main 
taining  the  same  position  and  in  double  line,  they  revolved  and 
faced  toward  the  southwest  and  passed  toward  the  northwest  corner 
of  the  lodge  and  again  faced  the  center-pole.  During  this  first  song 
they  raised  their  left  arms  four  times.  Again  they  turned  in  their 
tracks,  and  led  by  Black-Man,  went  to  the  southwest  side  of  the 
lodge,  where  they  faced  the  center-pole,  and  during  the  singing  of 
the  second  song  raised  their  left  hand  eight  times.  The  line  passed 
back  to  the  north  side  of  the  lodge  and  with  their  backs  toward 
the  center-pole  they  raised  their  left  arms  seven  times.  They  wheeled 
and  faced  the  center-pole  and  the  line  moved,  stepping  sidewise 
and  toward  the  east.  Black-Man  and  the  Lodge-maker  left  their 
places  and  went  to  the  center  of  the  line.  They  all  faced  the  center- 
pole.  In  this  position  the  third  song  was  begun,  and  they  moved 
both  arms  toward  the  center-pole  nine  times.  Maintaining  that 
position,  they  wheeled  and  faced  east;  the  fourth  song  was  sung 
and  they  moved  both  arms  seven  times. 

Seventh  and  Eighth  Songs. 

Still  maintaining  the  same  position,  they  turned  toward  the 
center-pole ;  the  first  song  was  sung  and  they  raised  their  hands 
toward  the  center-pole  seven  times.  Occupying  the  same  place, 
they  turned  their  backs  to  the  center-pole  and  the  line  opened  out 
in  length,  and  with  the  second  song  they  blew  their  whistles  at  short 
intervals,  both  arms  swinging  back  and  forth,  first  to  the  right  and 
then  to  the  left,  each  man's  hand  joining  that  of  his  neighbor.  This 
movement  continued  throughout  the  third,  a  very  long  song,  the 
swinging  motion  being  slight.  The  fourth  song  was  begun  and 
this  same  motion  continued,  as  it  did  during  the  first  three  succes 
sive  songs  of  the  eighth  group.  At  the  end  of  the  fourth  song  the 
priests  beat  more  rapidly  than  before  upon  the  rawhide,  and  the 
dancers  blew  vociferously  and  long  upon  their  whistles  and  then 
resumed  their  places  either  on  the  north  or  south  side  of  the  lodge, 
according  to  their  former  positions,  and  sat  down. 


130     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

In  explanation  of  these  movements,  the  following  brief  account 
was  obtained:  In  the  arm  movements,  as  they  raised  both  hands 
and  face  to  the  center-pole,  they  gave  thanks  to  the  four  medicine- 
spirits  and  to  the  great  medicine-spirit.  The  right  hand  was  for 
the  southeast,  the  left  for  the  northeast,  etc.  When  they  faced 
west  they  prayed  to  the  great  medicine-spirit  to  unite  strength  in 
them  that  they  might  travel  through  this  world  as  the  man  sun 
traveled  from  east  to  west  over  the  world. 

THE   CHIEF   PRIEST   AND   THE   LODGE-MAKER'S   WIFE. 

It  was  midnight,  and  though  the  moon  was  nearly  overhead,  it 
was  obscured  by  clouds,  and  as  a  consequence  the  notes  which  follow 
must  be  regarded  as  possibly  incomplete.  First  is  presented  an 
account  of  what  transpired,  obtained  from  Roman-Nose  Warrior  at 
the  close  of  the  ceremony. 

Before  leaving  the  lodge  the  Chief  Priest  and  the  Lodge-maker's 
wife  stooped  over  a  live  coal  upon  which  had  been  placed  incense, 
and  drew  a  buffalo  robe  closely  about  them  that  they  might  confine 
the  incense  within  the  robe,  and  thus  cause  it  to  go  over  their  bodies. 
Then  they  left  the  lodge,  the  woman  first,  followed  by  the  Chief 
Priest,  then  the  other  priests,  in  the  same  order  as  when  they  went 
after  the  sods  for  the  altar  on  the  following  day.  They  went  directly 
east  and  halted  a  short  distance  from  the  medicine  lodge,  where  one 
of  the  priests  prayed  to  the  great  medicine-spirit,  and  the  four  medi 
cine-spirits,  the  sun  and  the  heavenly  bodies,  for  the  whole  world, 
for  its  growth,  for  animals,  for  birds,  for  people,  for  grass,  for  stones, 
for  earth  of  all  kinds,  and  that  the  sun  should  shine  and  the  clouds 
should  give  rain.  Then  all  returned  to  the  lodge  except  the  Chief 
Priest  and  the  Lodge-Maker's  wife.  They  then  came  together  under 
one  robe,  bathing  their  bodies  in  incense  of  sweet-grass  dropped  upon 
a  coal.  Thus  they  prayed  that  their  bodies  might  grow  straight  and 
strong.  Then  they  sang  the  sacred  pipe  song  and  raised  the  pipe,  as 
if  they  were  raising  the  world,  and  lifting  upon  it  four  times,  they 
simulated  the  movement  made  in  raising  the  center-pole.  This  song 
should  have  been  sung  on  their  return,  but  was  overlooked  by  the 
priests.  Each  priest's  wife  had  shown  the  Lodge-maker's  wife  what 
to  do,  and  after  this  the  Chief  Priest  and  his  wife  and  the  Lodge- 
maker  and  his  wife  united  as  one  family. 

The  Crier,  who  was  the  Chief  Priest,  now  said:  "  I  announce  to  the 
whole  world  that  when  I  made  this  (that  is,  the  Sun  Dance)  I  gave 
two  guns  to  (the  man  who  was  Chief  Priest  at  that  time) ,  and  he  showed 
me  and  my  woman  and  gave  me  the  right  to  perform  this  ceremony." 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  131 

As  he  made  this  cry  he  was  supposed  to  call  upon  all  the  people  to 
listen,  and  to  ask  the  world  to  listen.  As  they  sat  together  under 
one  robe  over  the  incense  they  simulated  having  connection.  Thus 
people  should  unite.  They  had  connection  only  at  this  time.*  Should 
other  priests  have  connection  with  their  wives  during  the  ceremony 
they  would  not  live  long. 

To  return  to  what  was  observed  on  this  night.  The  Chief  Priest 
secured  a  piece  of  braided  sweet-grass  and  his  buffalo  tail  or  sweat 
lodge  brush,  and  the  Lodge-maker  took  from  the  fire-place  a  live  coal. 
The  Chief  Priest  then  left  the  lodge,  followed  by  the  Lodge-maker, 
his  wife,  and  all  the  other  priests.  Soon  all  returned  except  the  Chief 
Priest  and  the  woman,  and  resumed  their  places  in  a  circle. 

There  followed  a  brief  pause,  at  the  end  of  which  the  Lodge-maker 
arose  from  his  place  in  the  circle  of  priests,  took  up  the  rawhide  and 
carried  it  slowly,  and  as  before,  to  the  drummers  sitting  in  the  south 
east  of  the  lodge,  toward  whom  he  motioned  it  four  times  and  threw 
it  in  amongst  them,  whereupon  they  beat  upon  it  rapidly  with  the 
rattle  drumsticks  which  had  been  passed  to  them  without  formality. 
At  the  end  of  the  song  the  Crier  was  heard  outside.  At  the  end  of 
the  speech  of  the  Crier  the  drummers  all  beat  upon  the  drum. 

THE    BEGINNING   OF   THE    DANCE. 

The  drummers  began  shouting  and  soon  began  the  first  of  the 
dancing  songs.  The  dancers  arose,  and  formed  two  great  semi-circles 
on  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  lodge,  the  Lodge-maker  being 
directly  in  front  of  the  buffalo  skull,  and  Sage- Woman  sitting  in  the 
center  on  the  bed  behind  him. 

During  the  second  song  the  dancers  began  the  regular  dancing. 
The  movement  consisted  of  a  slight  swaying  forward  of  the  body, 
raising  the  two  heels  from  the  ground  simultaneously,  and  blowing 
on  the  eagle  bone  whistle  in  unison  with  the  singing.  At  this  time 
the  Chief  Priest  and  the  wife  of  the  Lodge-maker  returned  and  passed 
to  the  south  of  the  center-pole.  The  Lodge-maker's  wife  sat  down 
on  the  bed  just  south  of  Sage-Woman,  and  the  Chief  Priest  took  his 
place  in  the  circle  of  priests.  The  drummers  began  beating  upon 
the  drum  and  soon  began  the  third  song,  and  the  dancers  who  had 
remained  standing  continued  the  regular  movement  which  they  were 
to  keep  up  with  but  slight  intermissions  until  the  close  of  the  cere 
mony. 

There  followed  a  pause,  during  which  time  the  dancers  remained 

*  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  this  rite  was  in  whole  or  in  part  performed  on  the  night  the 
priests  entered  the  Lone-tipi. 


132     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

standing.  Another  song  was  begun  and  the  dancers  continued 
whistling  and  dancing,  but  during  all  this  time,  however,  without 
moving  their  arms.  The  Lodge-maker  continued  to  stand  about 
four  feet  south  of  the  skull.  At  the  end  of  the  song  there  was  much 
rejoicing  and  shouting  on  the  part  of  priests,  drummers,  and  specta 
tors,  who  at  that  time  consisted  almost  exclusively  of  the  near  kin  of 
those  actively  engaged  in  the  ceremony,  for  it  was  about  two  o'clock 
in  the  morning.  The  shouting  marked  the  end  of  the  preparation 
for  the  ceremony  and  the  real  beginning  of  the  dancing,  for  hence 
forth  the  dancers  occupied  their  time  almost  continuously,  until  they 
were  painted,  by  dancing;  they  fasted  from  this  night  until  after  the 
last  rite  at  the  close  of  the  ceremonv. 


THE    FIFTH    DAY. 

This  may  not  inappropriately  be  termed  "altar  day,"  as  the 
erection  of  the  altar  is  the  chief  event  of  the  day.  It  may  also  be 
termed  the  first  day  of  the  dance  proper.  It  is  the  first  fasting  day, 
for  after  the  feast  of  the  previous  night  the  dancers  refrain  from 
eating  until  the  close  of  the  ceremony.  As  will  be  seen,  there  are 
five  distinct  features  connected  with  the  erection  of  the  altar,  of 
which  the  buffalo  skull  serves  as  the  center.  The  events  of  the 
building  of  the  altar  are  the  cutting  of  the  sod  and  the  formation  of 
the  half  circle,  the  insertion  of  the  brush  and  the  willow  and  plum 
bushes  on  this  half-circle,  the  digging  and  painting  of  the  ditch,  the 
erection  of  the  rain-bow  sticks  and  the  erection  of  the  sticks  represent 
ing  the  people.  During  the  erection  of  the  altar  the  dancers  take 
their  pipes  to  their  grandfathers,  who  paint  them.  Before  each 
dance,  that  is,  before  each  ceremony  in  which  a  new  paint  is  worn, 
the  rawhide  is  incensed  and  carried  around  the  altar.  Formerly,  on 
this  day  the  children  placed  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  pole  clay  images 
of  animals,  chiefly  of  the  buffalo,  which  they  had  made  in  pairs  at 
the  river.  The  paint  of  this  day  is  known  as  the  "Yellow-Paint." 

THE  ERECTION  OF  THE  ALTAR. 

After  the  events  noted  in  the  account  of  the  preceding  night  the 
dancers  spent  the  few  remaining  hours  wrapped  in  their  blankets, 
sleeping  on  the  ground.  There  was  no  special  dance  at  sunrise, 
though  in  1901  the  Lodge-maker  and  his  wife  sat  outside  the  lodge 
and  watched  the  sun  rise.  By  seven  o'clock  all  were  awake  and  the 
principal  priests  were  present,  sitting  about  the  buffalo  skull  in  no 
special  order. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.  XLII. 


PL.  XLII.    PRIESTS  MAKING  THE  EXCAVATION. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYEXXE  —  DORSEY.  133 

THE  EXCAVATION. 

The  Chief  Priest  spat  in  the  hands  of  Cedar-Tree,  Big-Baby,  and 
the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  and  with  similar  rites  spat  upon  an  axe 
five  times.  In  the  mean  time  the  Lodge-maker  brought  in  the  bundle 
of  dog-wood  sticks  which  had  been  lying  outside  of  the  lodge.  Big- 
Baby  and  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  without  formality  cleared  the 
ground  for  a  considerable  distance  around  and  especially  in  front  of 
the  buffalo  skull,  removing  all  trace  of  vegetation.  They  next  pre 
pared  to  mark  the  site  of  the  excavation  to  be  made  in  front  of  the 
skull.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  took  a  slender  rod  and  placed  one 
end  of  it  upon  the  upper  side  of  his  lower  arm  bent  at  right  angles  to 
his  upper  arm.  He  measured  with  the  stick  in  this  position  to  the 
base  of  his  middle  finger.  Having  cut  the  stick  this  length,  he  roughly 
indicated  on  the  ground  in  front  of  the  skull  the  length  of  the  excava 
tion.  Big-Baby  with  his  two  hands  took  the  hands  of  Black-Man 
and  caused  him  to  touch  an  axe  and  make  a  circular  motion  over  the 
space  thus  indicated ;  then  he  caused  him  to  direct  £neaxe  downward 
five  times  and  touch  the  ground  with  the  axe  in  four  different  places, 
beginning  with  the  southeast,  thus  indicating  a  rectangular  figure. 
Continuing  to  hold  his  hands  he  again  caused  him  to  make  a  circular 
motion  and  to  direct  the  axe  four  times  and  touch  the  ground  in  the 
center,  thus  indicating  the  place  to  be  cut.  The  space  was  again 
measured  with  the  stick,  preparatory  to  its  excavation,  the  width 
now  being  determined  by  the  assistant  Chief  Priest,  who  placed  the 
tips  of  his  two  thumbs  together  with  his  palms  downward  and  out 
ward.* 

By  this  time  the  heat  of  the  sun  was  excessive,  and  women  brought 
poles  and  a  piece  of  tipi  cloth  with  which  they  formed  a  shelter  over 
the  priests  working  at  the  altar.  Before  actually  beginning  the 
work  of  excavating,  although  its  size  had  been  indicated,  Big-Baby 
passed  around  behind  the  buffalo  skull  and  sighted  over  the  median 
line  of  the  skull,  in  order  to  make  sure  that  the  space  was  in  a  direct 
line  between  the  center  of  the  skull,  and  the  center-pole.  Thereupon, 
Black-Man,  without  further  formality,  began  loosening  the  earth  in 
the  rectangular  area.  Big-Baby,  with  his  right  hand,  took  the  right 
hand  of  Black-Man,  made  a  circular  motion  with  it  over  the  loosened 
earth,  directed  his  hand  toward  it  four  times,  and  the  latter  took  up 
a  handful  of  earth  and  placed  it  upon  an  old  blanket  which  had  been 
spread  out  by  the  side  of  the  excavation  as  a  receptacle.  The  cir- 

*It  will  be  remembered  that  the  same  measure  was  used  in  indicating  the  width  of  the  bands 
on  the  four  poles  and  the  center-pole  of  the  lodge  which  were  to  receive  bands  of  paint. 


i34     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

cular  motion  and  the  four  passes  were  repeated  three  additional  times, 
Black-Man  each  time  taking  up  an  additional  handful  of  earth. 
Big-Baby  released  Black-Man's  hand  and  the  latter,  using  his  right 
hand  only,  gathered  up  the  remaining  loose  earth  and  placed  it  upon 
the  blanket.  When  the  space  had  thus  been  cleaned  Big-Baby  and 
Black-Man  seized  the  blanket  by  the  four  corners,  lifted  on  it  four 
times,  carried  it  to  the  center-pole  and  waved  the  blanket  toward  it 
four  times,  and  emptied  the  earth  at  the  foot  of  the  center-pole  on 
the  west  side.  (See  PI.  XLIV.) 

PREPARATION  OF  THE  ALTAR  STICKS. 

During  this  time  other  priests,  especially  Cedar-Tree  and  the  assist 
ant  Chief  Priest,  the  number  of  priests  working  being  gradually  in 
creased,  were  decorticating  and  fashioning  the  dogwood  sticks  into 
requisite  shapes,  to  be  used  either  in  the  construction  of  the  rainbow 
or  to  be  placed  upright  along  the  sides  of  the  excavation.  (See  Fig. 
6 1.)  Before  beginning  work  on  these  sticks,  however,  all  had  their 
hands  prepared  by  the  Chief  Priest  in  the  customary  manner.  The 
priests  worked  on  these  sticks  until  they  were  all  prepared. 

I 


FIG.  61.     Priests  decorticating  altar  sticks. 


PL.  XLIII.    PRIESTS  GOING  AFTER  THE  ALTAR  SOD. 


PL.  XLIV.    THE  PRIEST  PREPARING  THE  HANDS  OF  SAGE-WOMAN. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYEXXE  —  DORSEY.  135 

SECURING  THE  SODS. 

It  was  now  time  for  the  priests  to  go  after  certain  pieces  of  sod 
to  be  used  in  the  construction  of  the  altar.  Sage-Woman,  the  wife 
of  the  Chief  Priest,  who  had  been  the  constant  companion  of  the 
Lodge-maker's  wife  since  they  had  taken  up  their  position  in  the 
Sun  Dance  lodge,  erected  a  small  curtain  in  front  of  the  bed  and  cos 
tumed  the  Lodge-maker's  wife  as  on  the  preceding  day.  When  she 
emerged  from  behind  the  curtain  it  was  seen  that  her  face,  hands,  and 
body  were  painted  red,  and  that  she  wore  her  buffalo  robe  and  belt. 


FIG.  62.     Priests  leaving  the  lodge  for  the  sods. 

Sage-Woman  selected  from  the  poles  which  had  been  brought  that 
morning  for  the  shelter  over  the  priests  a  short  tipi  pole  and  cut  it 
about  the  length  of  the  so-called  earth-peg,  inserted  in  the  willow 
bundle  in  the  fork  of  the  center-pole  on  the  preceding  day.  The 
point  of  this  she  sharpened  after  the  manner  of  a  digging  stick.  This 
she  gave  to  the  Lodge-maker's  wife,  who  started  out  of  the  Sun  Dance 
lodge  toward  the  east,  followed  first  by  Sage- Woman  carrying  an 
axe  and  then  by  all  the  Sun  Dance  priests.  (See  PI.  XLIII.  and  Fig.  62.) 
They  went  to  the  east  of  the  lodge  and  halted  at  a  distance  of  about 
a  hundred  feet,  where  the  priests  formed  in  a  simi-circle  facing  the 
west,  the  two  women  sitting  in  the  center  of  the  half-circle.  Big- 
Baby  with  an  axe  cleared  the  grass  and  weeds  from  a  rectangular 
piece  of  earth  about  two  feet  square.  The  digging  stick  was  handed 
to  the  Chief  Priest,  who  touched  his  finger  to  the  ground,  to  his  tongue, 
took  a  bite  of  root,  spat  five  times  toward  the  stick,  and  handed  it  to 
the  Lodge-maker's  wife.  She  and  Sage-Woman  now  had  their  hands 
prepared  by  the  Chief  Priest.  (See  PI.  XLIV.)  Sage-Woman  took 
the  two  hands  of  the  Lodge-maker's  wife  and  caused  them  to  make 


136     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


The  Lode-maker's  wife  and  Sae-Woman. 


four  passes  toward  the  digging-stick  and  to  pick  it  up.  They  moved 
forward  to  the  cleared  spot,  pointed  with  the  stick  toward  the  cleared 
spot  four  times,  once  to  each  of  its  four  corners.  (See  Fig.  63.)  One 

of  the  priests  took  a  small  twig 
which  he  had  brought  with 
him  from  the  Sun  Dance  lodge 
and  measured  upon  the  cleared 
space.  Then  the  assistant  Chief 
Priest,  Big-Baby,  and  Roman- 
Nose  held  their  hands  for  the 
Chief  Priest  to  prepare,  and 
they  measured  on  the  side  a 
rectangular  figure,  each  side 
being  equivalent  to  the  ex 
tended  span  of  the  second 
finger  to  the  thumb.  The  out 
lines  of  this  area  were  now 
lined  or  traced  by  means  of 
the  digging-stick.  Cedar-Tree 
desired  to  assist  in  the  meas 
uring  and  had  his  hands 

prepared  by  the  Chief  Priest.*  The  succession  of  movements  which 
now  followed  in  loosening  the  sod  may  best  be  understood  by  refer- 

*At  this  point  two  boys  starting  across  the  camp-circle  were  about  to  pass  between  the  priests 
and  the  Sun  Dance  lodge.  One  of  the  priests  at  once  called  out,  directing  them  to  go  either  west 
of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge,  or  east  of  the  priests,  for  to  pass  between  the  priests  cutting  the  sod  and  the 
lodge  was  to  court  misfortune. 


FIG.  64.     Diagram  of  sods. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


ence  to  the  diagram  (see  Fig.  64),  which  shows  the  order  in  which  the 
pieces  were  cut  and  the  order  in  which  they  were  lifted  from  their 
places.  The  priests,  still  measuring  with  their  fingers,  divided  the 


FIG.  65.     Priest  outlining  sods. 

space,  bounded  by  the  four  straight   lines    first    indicated,  as  on  the 

accompanying  diagram ;  the  one  on  the  north  and  marked  (i)  being 

outlined  first.     Then  without  formality  one  of  the  priests  took  the  axe 

(see  Fig.  65)  and  inserted  the  blade    along    all  of   the  lines,  passing 

the    axe    first    around    the    rectangular    piece    on   the    north,    next 

the    piece    on    the    east,    the    piece    on    the    south,     and    the    piece 

on   the   west.     Before    beginning    to   mark  the    inner  lines,  that    is 

the  boundaries   of   the  fifth  piece,  he   moved   his  axe  back,  around 

by  way  of  the  east  and  south,   and  reaching  over  the  sod  marked 

the    west    line    from    north    to    south.      He    marked    the    east    line 

from    north    to    south;     the 

north  line  from  east  to  west. 

He   then   took   up   a   spade, 

brought  to  the  scene  by  one 

of    the    priests,    and    gently 

loosened    all    five    pieces    of 

sod,    inserting    the    point   of 

the    spade    along    all   edges. 

The   two   women   now  went 

to  the  Chief  Priest  who  again  FlG  66     The  fifth  piece  of  sod 

prepared  their  hands.     Two 

of  the   priests   did   likewise.     The  latter  moved  up  to  the  sods  and 

placing   their   hands   along   the   line  which  separated  the  first  piece 

from  the  fourth  and  fifth  pieces  they  lifted  it  up  and  placed  it  toward 


138     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


Ill 


3*1 


FIG.  67.     Sage-woman  and  the  Lodge-maker's  wife. 

the  north,  upside  down.  They  placed  their  hands  in  the  groove, 
separated  the  second  piece  from  the  fifth,  and  threw  it  out  in  the  same 
manner,  upside  down,  and  so  on  until  the  four  pieces  forming  the 
outer  area  were  thrown  out.  (See  Fig.  66.)  When  these  four  pieces 

were  all  thrown  out  Sage- 
Woman  took  the  hands  of 
the  Lodge-maker's  wife 
and  caused  her  to  make 
four  passes  toward  the  first 
piece  and  assisted  her  to 
get  it  on  the  palms  of  her 
hands.  (See  Fig.  67.)  She 
carried  it,  in  stooping  pos 
ture,  into  the  lodge,  walk 
ing  slowly.  There  she  was 
directed  to  move  it  toward 
the  ground  four  times  and 
place  it  down  south  of  the 
skull .  She  returned  to  where 
"J  the  priests  had  continued 
to  sit  in  a  semi-circle,  and 
FIG.  68.  The  Lodge-maker's  wife  placing  the  sods,  again  with  the  assistance 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYEXXE  —  DORSE v. 


of  Sage-Woman,  took  up  the  second  piece  and  carried  it  to  the  lodge. 
She  returned  for  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth  pieces.  The  second  piece 
was  placed  just  west  of  the  first  piece,  or  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
the  skull,  the  third 
and  fourth  pieces 
on  the  northwest 
and  northeast  cor 
ners  respectively, 
and  the  fifth  piece 
(see  Fig.  68)  at  the 
back  of  the  skull; 
the  positions  of  the 
five  pieces  may  be 
understood  by  ref 
erence  to  the  ac 
companying  dia 
gram.  (See  Fig. 
69.) 

The     sods     are 
now    symbolic     of 


FIG.  69.     Diagram  of  position  of  sods  and  skull. 


the  four  medicine-spirits  and  the  sun.  As  she  brought  in  the  fifth 
piece  she  was  followed  by  Sage- Woman  and  all  the  priests,  though 
it  was  observed  that  no  particular  order  was  followed  in  the  return 
to  the  lodge.  Within  the  lodge  the  priests  took  up  their  accustomed 
places,  except  one  who  took  up  his  position  immediately  behind  the 
central  piece,  of  sod. 


FIG.  70.     Priests  making  the  semi-circle  of  earth. 


140     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


THE  SEMI-CIRCLE  AND  THE  ALTAR  FOLIAGE. 

Without  formality  the  priests  began  working  down  the  pieces  of 
sod  (see  Fig.  70),  so  that  they  caused  the  inner  ends  to  meet  and 
thus  form  a  complete  semi-cricle  around  the  skull.  Three-Fingers 
at  this  point  brought  in  a  large  bundle  of  small  bushes  bearing  red 
berries,  the  ends  of  all  of  which  had  already  been  trimmed.*  (See 
Fig.  71.)  From  this  bundle  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  selected  five.  He 

took  the  Lodge- 
maker's  right  hand 
and  together  they 
made  a  circular 
motion  and  four 
passes  toward  the 
bushes.  The 
Lodge-maker  wras 
directed  to  pick  up 
one  of  the  bushes, 
make  four  passes 
toward  the  sod 
semi-circle,  and  in 
sert  it  at  the  north 
east  end,  that  is 

into  what  was  the  first  piece  of  sod.  With  similar  movements  the  four 
other  bushes  were  picked  up  and  inserted  in  the  semi-circle,  the  order 
of  their  insertion  being  the  same  as  that  followed  in  placing  the  five 
pieces  of  sod  about  the  skull.  Thus  the  second  piece  was  inserted 
in  the  second  piece  of  sod,  and  so  on.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  and 
the  Lodge-maker  retired,  and  the  remaining  bushes  were  inserted 
without  formality  by  the  other  priests  in  the  semi-circle,  so  that  when 
finished  it  bore  a  closely  set  row  of  bushes.  (See  PI.  XLV.) 

Black-Man  brought  into  the  lodge  a  young  cottonwood  sapling, 
two  young  plum  trees,  and  finally  a  second  cottonwood.  Without 
formality  he  sharpened  the  bases  of  these,  so  as  to  make  easier  their 
insertion  into  the  ground  at  the  proper  time.  The  Lodge-maker's 
wife  donned  her  robe  and  belt,  which  she  had  laid  aside  when  she  had 
resumed  her  place  on  the  bed.  She  secured  the  digging  stick  used 
to  loosen  the  sods  and  with  the  usual  assistance  of  Sage-Woman  she 
was  directed  to  make  the  circular  motion  and  the  four  passes,  to  take 
up  the  digging  stick  (see  Fig.  72)  and  with  it  to  make  a  circular  move 
ment  and  four  passes  and  then  to  prepare  the  holes  to  receive  the 

*These  bushes  are  symbolic  of  all  vegetation,  especially  of  all  fruits. 


FIG.  71.     Chief  Priest  directing  the  Lodge-maker. 


PL.  XLV.    PRIESTS  INSERTING  THE  ALTAR  FOLIAGE. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


141 


FIG.  72.     Lodge-maker's  wife  picking  up  the  digging  stick. 

four  saplings  which  had  just  been  brought  in.  She  made  the  first 
hole  at  the  southeast,  the  next  at  the  southwest,  at  the  northwest, 
and  at  the  northeast  of  the  skull,  each  hole  being  just  outside  the 
semi-circle,  and  corresponding  in  position  with  the  first  four  bushes. 
She  laid  aside  the  digging  stick  and  without  further  formality  took 
up  an  iron  bar  and  proceeded  to  deepen  and  enlarge  the  holes.  At 


FIG.  73.     Lodge-maker's  wife  with  the  altar  foliage. 


142     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


this  point  Iron-Shirt,  a  famous  Cheyenne  warrior  who  probably 
holds  the  longest  coup  record  in  the  tribe  to-day,  related  the  usual 
war  story  attendant  upon  the  building  of  the  fire.  Sage-Woman 
took  the  two  hands  of  the  Lodge-maker's  wife  in  hers  and  made  the 
usual  four  passes,  and  the  latter  took  up  one  of  the  two  plum-trees  (see 
Fig  73),  and  inserted  it  in  the  first  of  the  two  holes  on  the  south  side 

of  the  altar. 
With  like  move 
ments,  and  being 
similarly  direct 
ed,  she  Dicked 
up  one  of  the 
cotton  woods 
and  placed  it  in 
the  second  of  the 
two  holes  on 
the  south.  With 
similar  move 
ments  the  sec 
ond  plum-tree 
was  placed  in 
the  first  hole  on 
the  north  side  of 
the  altar  and 
then  the  second 
cottonwood  in 
the  second  hole 
(See  Fig.  74.) 

The  symbol 
ism  of  the  bushes 

with  red  berries  has  been  noted.  The  plum  bushes  are  symbolic  of 
vegetation  in  general,  especially  of  all  herbs,  etc.,  which  are  good  for 
medicinal  use.  The  cottonwoods  are  symbolic  of  all  large  vegetation, 
especially  of  timber  useful  for  fire,  etc.  "  In  the  Lone-tipi  they  made 
things  as  if  they  were  going  to  come.  Now  things  are  coming  to  pass." 

THE  DRY  SAND  PAINTING. 

One  of  the  priests  entered  the  lodge  with  a  bag  of  sand  which 
Black-Man  emptied  by  the  side  of  the  excavation,  whereupon  those 
who  were  to  take  part  in  the  dry  sand  painting  to  be  made  in  the 
excavation  had  their  hands  prepared  by  the  Chief  Priest.  They 
gathered  around  the  excavation  and  one  of  them  removed  from  it 


FIG.  74.     Lodge-maker's  wife  completing  altar  foliage. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


the  pieces  of  leaves,  etc.,  which  had  fallen  upon  the  floor.  One  of 
the  priests  took  the  two  hands  of  the  -Lodge-maker  in  his  and  caused 
them  to  make  four  passes  toward  the  sand.  His  hands  still  being 
held  by  the  priest,  the  Lodge-maker  took  up  a  double  handful  of  sand, 
circled  it  over  the  ditch,  and  directed  it  toward  each  of  the  four  corners 
and  deposited  a  portion  of  it  in  the  southeast,  the  southwest,  the 
northwest,  and  the  northeast  corners,  and  the  remainder  in  the 
center.  The  field  was  now  completely  covered  to  the  depth  of  about 
half  an  inch  by  the  Lodge-maker,  without  further  formality.  The 
remainder  of  the  sand  was  gathered  up  and  placed  upon  the  earth 
mound  from  the  excavation  at  the  foot  of  the  center-pole  on  the  west 
side.  The  Lodge-maker  returned  to  the  excavation.  One  of  the 
priests  took  a  small  stick  and  directed  it  toward  the  ditch  four  times, 
and  with  the  point  of  the  stick  first  directed  toward  the  sand  field, 
along  the  border  next  the  buffalo  skull,  divided  the  field  by  four  short 
lines  into  five  equal  divisions.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest,  with  the 
same  stick,  completed  the  lines  by  continuing  them  across  the  field 
to  the  opposite  side. 

The  Lodge-maker  was  handed  four  bags  of  paints  which  he  untied ; 
the  first  contained  red,  the  second  black,  the  third  yellow,  and  the 
fourth  white  dry  paint.  His  two  hands  were  grasped  by  one  of  the 
priests,  and  were  directed  toward  the  black  paint  four  times;  at  the 
fifth  time  the  Lodge-maker  took  up  a  pinch  and  he  was  caused  to 
direct  it  toward  the  beginning  of  the  first,  or  left,  of  the  four  parallel 
lines ;  at  the 
point  nearest 
the  skull  the 
paint  was  di 
rected  four 
times  and 
dropped. (See 
Fig.  75.)  With 
similar  move 
ments  and  in 
the  same  man 
ner  a  pinch  of 
red  paint  was 
placed  at  the 
beginning  of 
the  second 

line;  yellow  at  the  third,  and  white  at  the  fourth.  The  Chief 
Priest,  without  formality,  completed  these  four  lines.  Taking  up 


Preparing  the  dry-sand  picture. 


144     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

the  second  pinch  of  black  paint  he  made  a  dotted  line  on  each  side 
of  the  black  line ;  a  dotted  line  in  red  on  each  side  of  the  red  line ;  a 
dotted  line  in  yellow  on  each  side  of  the  yellow  line;  and  a  dotted 
line  of  white  on  each  side  of  the  white  line. 

The  dotted  or  broken  lines  of  colored  sand  represented  stars — 
the  white  first,  because  the  white  stars  come  first  in  the  morning. 
The  continuous  lines  represent  roads ;  the  white  is  that  of  the  Lodge- 
maker  and  his  wife;  the  red  is  the  road  of  the  Cheyenne;  the  black 
is  the  trail  of  the  buffalo ;  the  yellow  is  the  path  of  the  sun.  The 
entire  sand  picture  is  a  symbol  of  the  morning  star. 


FIG.  76.     Preparing  the  rainbow  sticks. 

THE  RAINBOW  STICKS. 

The  four  sticks  or  bows  for  the  rainbow  which  had  been  prepared 
(see  Fig.  76)  were  brought  to  the  altar  by  the  assistant  Chief  Priest. 
He  moved  his  hand  over  the  smallest  of  the  four  and  motioned  toward 
it  four  times,  took  it  up,  and  inserted  the  two  ends  of  it  in  the  ground 
at  the  south  extremity  of  the  excavation  and  between  it  and  the 
anterior  end  of  the  buffalo  skull.  With  similar  movements  he  inserted 
the  second,  third  and  fourth  bows  over  the  first  one,  the  fourth  or 
largest  being  so  placed  that  it  was  immediately  over  the  third  one, 
which,  in  turn,  was  over  the  second,  etc.  (See  Fig.  77.) 

Red-Cloud  took  a  piece  of  tallow,  mixed  it  with  black  paint,  and 
painted  the  first  or  inner  bow  black.  He  then  daubed  downy  feathers 
with  black  paint  and  tallow  and  attached  them  to  this  bow.  He 
painted  the  second  bow  red  and  gave  it  a  coat  of  red  painted  downy 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


J45 


FIG.  77.     Inserting  the  rainbow  sticks. 

feathers;  the  third  bow  he  painted  yellow  and  gave  it  a  coat  of 
yellow  painted  downy  feathers;  the  fourth,  or  upper  and  outermost 
bow,  he  painted  white  and  gave  it  a  coat  of  white  painted  downy 
feathers.  The  bows  now  are  symbolic  of  the  rainbow  or  of  rain; 
if  these  sticks  were  not  put  up  a  flood  would  come. 


THE  MEN  STICKS. 

The  assistant  Chief  Priest  took  up  the  nine* 
sticks,"  the  lower  two-thirds  of  which  had 
been  decorticated,  and  inserted  them  in  a  row 
at  equal  distances  apart,  near  the  southern 
border  of  the  excavation.  (See  Fig.  78.) 
Galloping  in  the  mean  time  erected  seven 
completely  decorticated  sticks  on  the  north 
side.  The  assistant  Chief  Priest  then  painted 
the  decorticated  surface  of  the  sticks  on  the 
south  side  red  and  the  upper  surface  black, 
and  attached  red  and  black  downy  feathers 
to  them,  while  Galloping  painted  the  seven 
on  the  north  side  white  and  attached  white 
downy  feathers.  (See  Fig.  79.)  The  white 
sticks  are  symbolic  of  the  same  tribe  as  the 
human  effigy  in  the  center-pole,  i.  e.,  the 


so-called    "man 


FIG.  78.    Decorticating  the 
men  sticks. 


*These  sticks  may  varv  from  seven  to  nine.     The  red  and  black  sticks  are  symbolic  of  a  human 
body  with  black  hair,  and  represent  the  bands  of  Cheyenne 


146     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

enemy  in  general,  which  are  conceived  of  as  scalped.  The  Cheyenne 
name  their  chief  enemies  in  the  following  order:  Ute,  Pawnee,  Crow, 
Assinaboin,  Shoshoni,  and  Ponca. 

The  assistant  Chief  Priest  painted  with  red,  and  added  a  coat  of 
red  downy  feathers  to  the  upper  part  of  the  plum-tree  and  the  cotton- 
wood-tree  on  the  south  side,  and  painted  their  bases  black  and  applied 
black  downy  feathers;  Galloping  painted  the  two  trees  on  the  north 
side  with  white  and  coated  them  with  white  downy  feathers.  These 
feathers  are  symbolic  of  all  birds  and  of  all  food.  Now  they  must 
come  forth  with  the  growth  of  the  earth. 

The  altar  (See  PL  XLVI.),  and  consequently  the  lodge,  was  now 
complete.  It  is  often  spoken  of  as  the  willow  lodge  because  all  wear 
willow  wreaths.  Formerly  all  the  warriors  at  this  time  hung  their 
shields  and  medicine  bundles  on  the  lodge  and  it  was  called  the 
Growth  or  New  Birth  lodge.  While  the  altar  as  a  whole  represents 
this  earth,  the  fifth  in  the  series,  and  symbolizes  the  supreme  medicine 
being,  the  lodge  itself  represents  the  heavens,  or  universe.  No  men 
struating  woman  may  come  within  the  lodge  now,  for  the  dancers  are 


FIG.  79.     Attaching  downy  feathers  to  the  altar  sticks. 


PL.  XLVI.    THE  ALTAR.    (CARPENTER.' 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   XLVI. 


» 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENXE  —  DORSEY. 


considered  sacred  and  they  are  strictly  required  to  refrain  from  the 
presence  of  unclean  women. 

FILLING  THE   SACRED  PIPE. 

The  altar  having  been  finished,  the  Lodge-maker  filled  the  sacred 
pipe.  His  immediate  instructor  this  time  was  Three-Fingers,  who, 
in  turn,  was  directed  by  the  assistant  Chief  Priest.  As  the  loading 
of  this  pipe  has  already  been  described,  the  operation  need  not  be 
described  again.  After  it  was  filled  and  greased  it  was  replaced  by 
the  side  of  the  buffalo  skull. 

THE    DANCERS   ARE    PAINTED.     FIRST   PAINT. 

The  Lodge-maker  got  from  the  fire  a  coal  in  the  long-handled 
fire-spoon,  placed  it  in  front  of  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  who  was  to 
paint  him  thereafter  during  the  ceremony,  and  sat  down  behind  him, 
near  the  altar. 

During  the  time  occupied  in  constructing  the  altar,  the  dancers 
had  been  sitting  in  their  proper  places,  each  being  provided  early  in 
the  morning  with  a  pipe.  In  front  of  the  dancers  sat  their  grand 
fathers,  that  is  the  men  who  were  to  paint  them.  Each  dancer  now 
gave  his  pipe  to  his  grandfather,  who  lighted  it  and_  smoked.  While 
the  grandfathers  were  smoking,  the  dancers  went  in  turn  to  the 
Chief  Priest  who  spat  upon  their  hands  after  the  usual  fashion,  where 
upon  they  rubbed  their  hands  together  and  passed  them  down  over 
their  head,  face  and  body.  The  first  to  receive  the  spittle  were  the 
Lodge-maker  and  his  wife,  for,  in  theory,  they  are  always  painted 
first.  The  grandfathers  were  now  provided  by  relatives  of  the 
dancers  with  small  bowls 
and  boxes  or  bags  of 
paints  which  they  were 
to  use  in  painting  the 
dancers.  The  assistant 
Chief  Priest  began  to 
paint  the  entire  body, 
face,  and  head  of  the 
Lodge-maker  with  red, 
while  Sage-Woman,  the 
Chief  Priest's  wife, 
painted  in  a  similar  man 
ner  the  body  of  the 
Lodge-maker's  wife.  In 
applying  this  paint  the 


FIG.  80.     A  dancer  receiving  his  paint.     (Mooney.) 


148     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

same  motions  were  performed  and  the  same  order  of  application  was 
maintained  as  when  they  were  painted  in  the  Lone-tipi  on  the  pre 
ceding  day  by  the  same  priests.  As  soon  as  the  assistant  Chief  Priest 
was  well  advanced  in  painting  the  Lodge-maker,  the  other  grand 
fathers  began  painting  the  dancers  under  their  charge  (see  PI.  XLVII. 
and  Fig.  80),  going  through  the  same  motions;  that  is,  rubbing 
their  hands  together  and  making  in  their  palms  the  marks  which 
have  already  been  described. 

The  character  of  the  paints  applied  will  be  treated  in  another 


FIG.  81.     Priest  repainting  the  Lodge-maker's  robe.     (Mooney.) 

section,  but  it  may  be  said  here  that  theoretically  the  first  paint  should 
be  uniform  for  all  the  dancers.  In  the  succeeding  paints  additions 
to  the  prescribed  paint  may  be  applied,  these  additions  being  usually 
the  property  of  the  painter,  and  known  as  "dream  paints."  An 
exception  to  the  rule  that  all  should  be  painted  in  a  uniform  manner 
was  noted  in  the  case  of  two  dancers  on  the  south  side  of  the  line  who 
bore  paints  different  from  the  others.  These  were  Arapaho,  who  had 
asked  permission  to  fast  during  this  ceremony,  as  provision  had  not 
been  made  for  the  Sun  Dance  in  their  own  tribe. 

Big-Baby  painted  the  head-dress  of  the  Lodge-maker  red,  directing 
his  hand  toward  it  four  times,  and  then  upward,  and  giving  it  a  coat 


PL.  XLVII.    THE  GRANDFATHERS  PAINTING  THE  DANCERS.    (CARPENTER.) 


I  UNIVERSIT 

OF 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   XLVIII. 


PL.  XLVIII.    A  COSTUMED  DANCER. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   XLIX 


PL.  XLIX.    WOMEN  BRINGING  FOOD  FOR  THE  FEAST. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.   L. 


^ 


FIG.  A. 


PL.  L.    FIG.  A.   WOMAN  BRINGING  BED  INTO  THE  LODGE. 
FIG.  B.    THE  LODGE-MAKER  OFFERING  FOOD. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


149 


on  the  right  side.  He  directed  his  hand  toward  the  left  side  four  times, 
then  upward,  and  painted  the  left  side  with  an  upward  motion.  These 
movements  were  repeated  again,  both  for  the  right  and  for  the  left 
side. 

The  assistant  Chief  Priest  spread  on  the  ground  the  buffalo  robe 
of  the  Lodge-maker,  and  with  red  paint  marked  out  a  large  solid 
circular  disc  on  the  right  shoulder  of  the  robe,  and  a  crescent  or  moon- 
shaped  symbol  on  the  left  shoulder.  (See  Fig.  81.)  He  made  four 
movements  toward  the  robe  with  both  hands  ,and  grasping  it  along 
the  median  line  near  the  two  extremities,  he  jerked  upon  it  four 
times,  lifting  it  slightly  higher  each  time,  and  handed  it  to  the  Lodge- 
maker. 

After  all  the  dancers  had  been  painted  and  their  kilts  and  loin 
cloths  had  been  properly  adjusted,  each  grandfather  inserted  five 
bunches  of  sage  upright  into  his  belt,  making  first  a  circular  motion 
and  four  passes  with  each  bunch.  The  first  bunch  was  inserted,  as 
they  termed  it,  on  the  southeast  corner,  that  is  on  the  left  front  side, 
the  other  three  pieces  being  placed  on  the  right  front,  right  back,  and 
the  left  back  respectively,  while  the  fifth  was  inserted  at  the  middle 
of  the  back.  (See  PL  XLVIII.) 

THE  FEAST  AND  SACRIFICE  OF  FOOD. 

The  relatives  of  the  dancers  now  brought  into  the  lodge  great 
pans  heaped  with  food,  and  also  presents  which  were  given  to  the 
grandfathers.  (See  PI.  XLIX.)  These  presents  consisted  largely  of 
blankets,  but  there  was  also  brought  in  lean-backs  (See  PL  L., 
Fig.  a),  pieces  of  costume,  calico,  and  even  ponies. 


FIG.  82.     The  bed  in  the  lodge,  1901. 


50     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


Attention  has  already  been  directed  to  the  fact  that  a  bed  had 
been  prepared  for  the  Lodge-maker's  wife  and  the  wife  of  the  Chief 
Priest  on  the  west  side  of  the  lodge.  This  bed  with  all  its  furnishings, 
that  is  the  two  willow  lean-backs,  willow  mattress,  pillows,  blankets, 
etc.,  were  now  removed  by  friends  of  the  Lodge-maker's  wife,  for 
these  belonged  to  her.  At  each  feast  the  bed  (see  Fig.  82),  symbolic 
of  all  the  buffalo,  was  removed  and  replaced  by  another,  for,  accord 
ing  to  the  custom  of  the  ceremony,  this  bed  must  be  renewed  four 
times  (once  for  each  of  the  four  medicine-spirits),  during  the  days 
of  the  ceremony,  each  time  by  the  family  of  the  Chief  Priest,  and 

each  of  the  four 
beds  with  its  cur 
tains  and  belong 
ings  immediately 
becomes  the  prop 
erty  of  the  Lodge- 
maker's  wife  (see 
Fig.  83);  up  to 
this  time  the 
Chief  Priest  and 
his  wife  had  been 
the  recipients  of 
all  gifts. 

The  bed  hav 
ing    been    renewed  and  the  food    for  the  feast   being  provided,  the 
Lodge-maker  left  his  place,  took  a  twig  cf  sage  and  dipped  it  in  cne 
of  the  basins  of  food  and  offered  it  to  the  four 
painted    poles     (see    PI.    L.,    Fig.    £>.),    to    the 
trees  of   the  altar,  to  the  skull,  and   touched 
the  center-pole  with  it  four  times  and  dropped 
it  at  the  foot  of  the  center-pole.     Many  of  the 
dancers  made  similar  offerings  of   food.     (See 
Fig.  84.) 

PIERCING  THE  CHILDREN'S  EARS. 

At  this  time  the  lodge,  both  within  and 
without,  was  packed  with  priests,  friends  of 
the  dancers,  and  spectators.  Many  presents 
were  exchanged  among  friends,  chiefly  ponies. 
While  the  priests  were  eating  a  war  story 
was  told  by  an  old  warrior,  the  fire  was  re 
newed,  the  musicians  beat  upon  the  drum  and 


FIG.  83.  Women  removing  the  bed  from  the  lodge.  (Mooney.) 


/ 


FIG.  84.     A  dancer  sacri 
ficing  food. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEVEXXE  —  DORSEY. 


shouted,  and  certain  medicine-men  pierced  the  ears  of  some  of  the 
children.*  During  all  this  time  the  best  of  good  feeling  and  happiness 
prevailed  throughout  the  camp. 

FINAL  PREPARATION  OF  THE  DANCERS. 

Each  of  the  dancers  arose  (see  Fig.  85),  led  by  the  Lodge-maker, 
went  to  the  fireplace  and  removed  from  it,  by  means  of  a  stick,  a  live 
coal  which  he  placed  in  front 
of  his  grandfather.  Each 
grandfather  took  a  pinch  of 
sweet-grass,  motioned  it  tow 
ard  the  four  directions  and 
directly  overhead,  and  dropped 
it  upon  the  coal.  In  the  smoke 
thereupon  rising  he  bathed  his 
hands,  and  touched  each  sym 
bol  upon  the  body  of  the  dancer 
whom  he  had  painted,  begin 
ning  with  the  right  wrist,  and 
continuing  with  the  right  ankle, 
left  wrist,  left  ankle,  the  sym 
bol  on  the  breast,  the  symbol  on 
the  face,  and  finally  the  moon 
symbol  on  the  back.  The  dancer  turned  his  back  to  the  painter 
and  the  latter  took  a  stem  of  sweet-grass  upon  which  he  spat  saliva 
from  a  medicine  root  and  drew  it  across  the  dancer's  mouth  from 
left  to  right.  He  next  took  up  the  left  foot  of  the  dancer,  shook  it 
and  struck  it  with  the  grass  stem,  and  repeated  the  performance  with 
the  dancer's  right  foot;  he  repeated  the  performance  on  his  left 
hand,  and  then  on  his  right  hand.  He  repeated  the  performance  and 
struck  his  buttocks,  the  hollow  of  his  back,  the  middle  of  his  back, 
and  each  shoulder,  generally  shaking  him  each  time  by  grasping  the 
sides  of  his  body.  The  grandfather  then  with  four  passes  thrust  the 
grass  stem  in  the  scalplock  of  the  dancer.  By  this  rite,  called  the 
"  black-medicine  "  or  "  to-make-alive-again,"  the  dancers  are 
strengthened  and  refreshed.  Often,  later  in  the  ceremony,  the 
grandfathers  spat  upon  the  dancers'  heels  to  revive  them,  "for 
the  grandfathers  have  medicine  in  their  mouths."  Formerly  the 
dancers  chewed  the  scrapings  of  cottonwood  bark.  The  dancers 

*Much  ear-piercing  in  recent  times,  however,  is  simply  a  formality;  that  is,  the  priest  takes 
the  child's  ear  and  gives  it  a  gentle  squeeeze;  for  the  Cheyenne  have  been  made  to  believe  that  the 
piercing  of  the  ears  is  contrary  to  the  law  of  the  Indian  department. 


FIG.  85.     Costumed  dancers,  1901. 


152     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

now  received  their  head-dress  and  wrist,  ankle,  and  waist  bands  of 
willow,  adjusted  their  loin-cloth  and  sat  down  in  their  accustomed 
place.  (See  Fig.  86.) 

THURIFYING  THE  RAWHIDE. 

While  the  assistant  Chief  Priest  refolded  the  rawhide  (see  PI.  LI., 
Fig.  a),    which  since  its  use  on  the  night  before  had  been  lying  near 

the  center-pole,  the  Lodge-maker 
got  a  live  coal  in  the  fire-spoon  (see 
Fig.  LI.,  Fig.  b),  placed  it  under  the 
tip  of  the  skull,  and  took  a  pinch 
of  sweet-grass  from  the  bag  lying  by 
the  side  of  the  skull.  He  moved  it 
toward  the  coal  slowly,  halting  four 
times,  and  placed  it  upon  the  coal. 
He  took  up  the  rawhide,  grasping 
it  along  the  folded  edge  near  one 
end,  and  barely  lifting  it  from  the 
ground,  carried  it  from  the  east 
toward  the  west  (see  PL  LI.,  Fig.  r), 
north  of  the  skull  and  center-pole, 
and  continued  toward  the  musicians. 
There  he  motioned  it  toward  them 
four  times  and  threw  it  among  them, 
whereupon  they  beat  upon  it  with 
the  drumstick  rattles. 
The  crowd  within  and  without  the  lodge  was  now  denser  than 
before.  Women  were  singing,  men  were  shouting,  and  an  atmosphere 
of  religious  fervor  pervaded  to  a  marked  degree  the  entire  camp. 
The  Lodge-maker  having  returned  to  his  place  remained  standing 
while  the  painters  completed  costuming  and  otherwise  prepar 
ing  their  subjects.  During  this  time  the  musicians  about  the 
drum  rehearsed  dance  songs.  When  all  were  ready  the  dancers 
arose,  as  also  the  grandfathers,  who  stood  in  line  behind  the 
dancers. 


FIG.  86.     Costumed  dancer. 


THE  FIRST  DANCE. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  first  Sun  Dance  song  proper,  the  painters 
raised  first  their  right,  then  their  left  arm.  Thus  they  continued  for 
a  few  moments,  then  the  grandfathers  sat  down.  The  dancers  now 
placed  their  whistles  in  their  mouths  and  began  whistling  and  dancing. 


PL.  LI.  THURIFYING  THE  RAWHIDE. 
FIG.  A.  PRIEST  FOLDING  THE  RAWHIDE. 
FIG.  B.  LODGE-MAKER  WITH  FIRE-SPOON. 
FIG.  C.  LODGE-MAKER  CARRYING  THE  RAWHIDE. 


"IELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.   LI. 


FIG.  A. 


FIG. 


FIG.  C. 


r* 

OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


'53 


FIG.  87.     Dancers  whistling  toward  the  center-pole,  1901. 


(SeeFig.SyOThe 
dancing  consist 
ed  chiefly  of  rais 
ing  the  heel  from 
the  ground,  thus 
signifying  their 
desire  that  the 
earth  may  be 
blessed  that  all 
may  live.  This 
per  form  a  n  c  e 
was  repeated 
four  times  and 
the  last  course 
of  the  Sun  Dance 
proper  may  be 
said  to  have 
begun. 

The  crowd  now  scattered  out,  some  of  the  dancers  sat  down  and 
the  painters  removed  the  bunches  of  sage  from  their  belts,  each 
handing  them  to  the  dancers,  who  placed  them  at  the  foot  of  the 

center-pole.  The 
dancers  passed  by 
the  Chief  Priest 
and  received  the 
spittle  in  their 
hands  "to  give 
them  permanent 
homes,"  whereup 
on  they  made  a 
motion  as  if  rub 
bing  their  hands 
together,  down 
their  arms,  legs, 
over  their  breast 
and  head.  Some 
of  the  dancers  in 
stead  of  receiving 

the  spittle  from  the  priest,  performed  the  rite  for  themselves,  first 
touching  their  finger  to  the  ground,  then  to  their  tongue,  and  placing 
their  tongue  to  a  root  which  was  attached  to  the  base  of  a  buffalo 
tail,  held  out  to  them  by  the  Chief  Priest.  The  grandfathers  now  re- 


FIG.  88.     Dancers  washing  off  the  paint.     (Mooney.) 


154     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


FIG. 


Dancers  washing  off  the  paint. 
(Mooney.) 


moved  the  eagle  breath- 
feather  from  the  hair  of 
their  subjects,  and  gave 
each  one  a  bunch  of  sage, 
whereupon  the  dancers  went, 
without  formality,  to  buckets 
of  water,  provided  for  this  pur 
pose,  and  with  the  sage  thor 
oughly  drenched  themselves 
from  head  to  foot.  (See  Figs. 
88  and  89.)  It  was  now  about 
four  o'clock.  No  further  rites 
were  performed  in  the  lodge, 
nor  was  there  any  further 
movement  until  about  seven 
o'clock  in  the  evening. 

THE   SECOND   PAINT. 

The  dancers  were  painted  as 
in  the  afternoon.  First  each 
dancer  handed  his  grandfather  the  pipe.  After  smoking,  the  grand 
fathers  made  for  each  of  the  dancers  a  willow  wreath  into  which  was 
inserted  a  red  stained  eagle  breath-feather,  symbolic  of  the  eagle, — as 
the  whistling  represents  his  cry  when  he  is  in  the  air.  After  painting 
it  the  willow  sage  wreath  was  placed  on  the  dancer's  head,  and 
in  his  belt  were  inserted  the  usual  five  bunches  of  sage. 

After  all  had  been  painted,  the  order  of  procedure  as  well  as  the 
manner  being  the  same  as  in  the  forenoon,  food  was  provided,  the 
dancers  made  the  usual 
sacrifice  of  food,  and  the 
feast  followed.  Coals 
were  provided  for  the 
priests  and  they  painted 
the  dancers  and  prepared 
their  feet,  hands,  etc.,  as 
in  the  afternoon.  The 
fire  was  replenished  with 
accompanying  war  story, 
and  the  dancers  made 
ready  for  the  evening 
performance,  which  did 
not  differ  from  that  FIG.  90.  Arapaho  dancer  taking  up  willow  pole. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


of  the  afternoon.  The  Lodge-maker  carried  in  his  right  hand, 
in  addition  to  a  bunch  of  sage,  an  eagle  wing  feather.  The 
two  Arapaho  were  painted  differently  from  the  others.  They 
now  went  to  the  center-pole  to  receive  certain  special  objects 
with  which  they  were  to  dance  and  which  had  been  placed 
there  by  their  grandfathers.  These  objects  were  slender  wil 
low  boughs  about  ten  feet  in  length,  to  the  upper  end  of  which  was 
attached  strips  of  calico  (see  Fig.  90),  and  a  pipe,  to  the  stem  of 
which  was  attached  a 
small  bunch  of  sage. 
(See  Fig.  91.)  They  then 
walked  back  and  joined 
the  line  of  dancers.  (See 
Fig.  92.)  Again  the  grand 
fathers  stood  by  their 
subjects  and  moved  their 
arms  back  and  forth  in 
accompaniment  to  the 
time  of  the  singing  on 
the  part  of  the  musicians 
about  the  drum.  At  this 
time,  however,  each 
grandfather  stood  in  front  FIG.  91.  Pipes  carried  by  the  Arapaho  dancers, 
of  his  subject  and 

grasped  his  left  arm,  lifted  it  aloft,  and  shook  it  so  that  the  long  fringe 
of  the  sage  wreath  about  his  arm  swayed  back  and  forth.  Then 
they  took  the  right  arm  of  the  dancer  in  the  same  way,  holding  it 
out  straight,  and  shaking  it.  The  grandfathers  continued  this  for 
a  few  moments  and  then  sat  down;  the  dancers  continued  whistling 
and  dancing.  The  movement  of  the  dancers  now  varied  somewhat 
from  the  first  dance,  for  they  held  up  first  one  arm  and  then  the  other. 
The  dance  now  continued  with  slight  intermissions  late  into  the 
night.  At  about  ten  o'clock  occurred  the  incident  relating  to  the 
torture  to  be  described  later  in  these  pages.  Before  the  dancers  lay 
down  for  the  night,  the  so-called  "sweet-water"  was  made  for  one 
or  two  of  them.  This  could  be  made  only  by  the  assistant  Chief 
Priest  and  Three-Fingers.  It  is  believed  that  the  drinking  of  water 
thus  made  does  not  violate  the  vow  to  fast.  At  the  conclusion  of 
the  last  dance  of  the  night,  all  the  wreaths  and  pieces  of  sage,  etc., 
worn  during  the  dance  were  deposited  at  the  foot  of  the  center-pole, 
by  the  side  of  the  cups  of  paint,  etc.,  which  had  been  placed  there 
immediately  after  the  grandfathers  had  finished  painting  the  dancers. 


156     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


FIG.  92.     Arapaho  dancers  in  line. 


THE   SIXTH    DAY. 

As  already  explained,  the  number  of  days  devoted  to  dancing  and 
fasting  depends  upon  the  length  of  time  fasted  by  the  one  chosen  as 
Chief  Priest.  In  the  ceremonies  of  both  1901  and  1903  the  time 
devoted  exclusively  to  dancing,  and  not  including  the  altar  day,  was 
one  day ;  This  naturally  involved  either  the  omission  of  certain  pre 
scribed  paints  or  the  use  on  the  altar  day  and  the  day  following  of 
more  paints  than  are  supposed  to  be  appropriate  to  any  one  day. 

Both  the  description  of  the  paints  which  are  supposed  to  be  worn 
on  each  individual  day  and  what  happened  in  the  ceremonies  witnessed 
is  set  forth  in  the  proper  place.  The  rites,  in  the  full  ceremony  of 
eight  days,  of  each  day  following  the  altar  day  are  practically  the 
same.  On  each  morning  there  is  the  sunrise  dance,  followed  by 
a  period  of  rest.  Then  the  dancers  are  painted  and  given  their 
wreaths;  the  feast  is  provided,  the  sacrifice  is  made,  the  priests  eat, 
the  remnants  of  the  food  are  removed,  the  rawhide  is  passed  over  the 
incense  and  thrown  among  the  musicians,  and  the  dancers  dance  to  the 
accompaniment  of  the  music  at  irregular  intervals  throughout  the  day. 
Formerly  there  were  certain  times  during  these  three  days  following  the 
altar  day  when  certain  forms  of  torture  were  practiced.  This  subject 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.   Lll. 


FIG.  A. 


FIG.  B. 


FIG.  C. 


PL.  LI  I.    SCENES  INSIDE  THE  LODGE. 
FIG.  A.    EXCHANGING  PRESENTS. 
FIG.  B.    CHIEF  ANNOUNCING  A  PRESENT. 
FIG.  C.    OLD  CHIEF  AND  WIFE  MAKING  LOVE. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  157 

is  treated  in  another  place.     The  sacred  pipe  is  smoked,  refilled,  and 
painted  with  every  change  of  paint. 

It  remains,  therefore,  to  enumerate  the  successive  events  and  to 
describe  those  which  took  place  early  in  the  morning  and  late  on  the 
afternoon  of  this  day  and  which  brought  the  performance  to  a  close. 

THE    SUNRISE    DANCE. 

The  dance  was  continued  with  but  slight  intervals  throughout  the 
night  until  near  morning,  when  the  dancers  lay  down  in  their  blankets 
for  a  brief  period  of  sleep.  Shortly  after  five  o'clock  the  musicians 
were  sitting  around  the  drum,  and  the  dancers  formed  in  line  in  their 
usual  places.  Then  they  proceeded  in  one  long  line  toward  the  eastern 
entrance  and  stood  half-way  between  the  doorway  and  the  center- 
pole,  where  they  danced  until  the  sun  appeared  above  the  horizon. 

It  was  noticed  that  as  the  line  formed  toward  the  east  only  twelve 
dancers  had  survived  the  ordeal,  all  the  remainder  having  dropped  out 
except  one  old  man  over  seventy  years  old,  who  remained  sitting  in  his 
usual  place.  It  seems  probable  that  the  majority  of  those  who  left 
the  line  during  the  night  did  so  on  account  of  inability  to  withstand  the 
heat,  fatigue,  and  continued  fast.  The  claim  was  put  forth,  however, 
by  the  priests  that  many  left  because  their  families  had  not  made 
sufficient  provision  to  furnish  the  food  necessary  for  the  feast 
which  precedes  each  paint. 

THE   THIRD   PAINT. 

There  followed  a  period  of  rest  until  about  seven  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  when  preparations  were  made  for  the  painting  of  the  dancers, 
etc.  In  accordance  with  the  program  already  stated,  the  Lodge-maker 
and  his  wife,  as  on  all  previous  occasions,  were  painted  first. 

During  this  day,  as  well  as  on  the  previous  day,  women  occasion 
ally  replaced  the  men  around  the  drum  and  led  in  the  singing.  It  is 
claimed  that  all  women  who  are  supposed  to  have  excelled  in  mat 
rimonial  affairs  are  privileged  to  serve  at  the  drum.  At  times  all  the 
women  about  the  drum  were  wives  of  the  members  of  one  or  another 
of  the  warrior  societies;  at  other  times  they  were  all  wives  of  the 
chiefs.  During  the  day  the  exchange  of  presents  was  kept  up,  almost 
without  intermission.  Ponies,  blankets,  etc.,  were  brought  into  the 
lodge,  the  crier  announcing  the  gift;  at  other  times  gray  headed 
married  couples  stood  up  together  and  openly  made  love  and  ex 
patiated  on  the  beauties  of  married  life.  (See  PI.  LI  I.)  A  few  women 
also  entered  the  lodge  on  this  day,  during  the  singing,  each  bearing  a 


158     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


sheep  scapula,*  attached  to  a  stick  which  she  held  upright;  with  these 
they  danced,  keeping  time  to  the  beating  of  the  drum.  Such  women  are 
supposed  to  have  held  out  for  a  long  time  when  they  were  courted. 
In  case  of  one  woman  it  was  said  that  a  certain  old  man  of  the  tribe 
was  still  trying  to  win  her,  and  to  the  great  amusement  of  the  whole 
crowd  she  related  the  story  and  gave  the  name  of  her  old  lover. 

To  return  to  the  discussion  of  events  of  the  day,  it  may  be  noted 
first,  that  after  the  period  of  rest  above  mentioned,  certain  dancers 
quenched  their  thirst  by  drawing  sage  which  had  been  dipped 

in  water  across 
their  mouths. 
When  the  time 
came  for  the  first 
of  the  three  paints 
which  were  worn 
on  this  day,  the 
painters  proceeded 
to  wash  their  bod 
ies,  as  they  had  on 
previous  occasions, 
the  symbols  being 
touched  with  sage 
by  the  painters,  for 
the  blessing  of  the 
paint,  it  is  as 
sumed,  had  struck 
into  the  body. 
.Then  the  grand 
father  went  to  the 
Chief  Priest  to  re 
ceive  the  spittle. 
The  dancers  pro 
vided  coals  for 
the  grandfathers 
to  incense  their  hands  and  then  followed  the  painting.  Dur 
ing  its  progress  the  food  was  brought.  After  the  Lodge-maker 
was  painted,  his  robe  was  painted  as  it  was  in  the  Lone-tipi, 
it  being  repainted  with  each  change  of  paint.  After  it  had 
been  painted  the  priest  made  the  same  movements  that  were 
made  in  the  Lone-tipi ;  first  shaking  it  as  the  buffalo  does  on 
getting  up  to  shake  the  dust  from  his  body  —  thus  the  priest 

*  Formerly  a  human  scapula. 


FIG.  93.     Lodge-maker  sacrificing  to  the  altar. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


'59 


shakes  the  disease  from  the  people,  as  the  dust  rises  so  disease 
rises  and  passes  away. 

In  making  the  sacrifice,  the  Lodge-maker  took  a  small  piece  of  meat 
and  offered  it  to  the  small  earth  under  the  jaw  of  the  buffalo  skull 
first  making  four  passes;  after  depositing  the  meat  he  held  his 
palms  over  it  four  times.  (See  Fig.  93.)  Then  the  assistant  Chief 
Priest  dipped  the  tips  of  sprigs  of  sage  in  several  bowls,  rose,  and 
gave  it  to  the  Lodge-maker  who  went  around  by  way  of  the 
south  to  the  altar  and  touched  the  tips  of  the  arrows  representing 
the  Cheyenne,  and  laid  the  bunch  of  sage  down  by  their  side,  the 
offering  of  sage  expressing  the  desire  that  vegetation  in  general 
may  come.  Other  dancers  took  pieces  of  sage,  dipped  them  in 
a  bowl  of  food,  and  offered  them  to  the  four  painted  reach-poles. 
Thus,  on  the  first  day,  it  may  be 
said  that  the  sacrifice  is  to  the 
altar;  on  the  second  day,  to  the 
lodge  itself. 

After  the  sacrifice  came  the 
feast,  the  removal  of  the  food,  the 
exchange  of  presents,  the  renewal 
of  the  bed  (see  Fig.  94),  and  the 
placing  of  the  sage  in  the  belts  of 
the  dancers.  Then  the  dancers 
brought  coals  with  which  to  light 
the  pipes  for  the  grandfathers. 
All  being  in  readiness  for  the  begin 
ning  of  the  dance,  Big-Baby  placed 
the  buffalo  robe  upon  the  shoul 
ders  of  the  Lodge-maker,  directing 
it  toward  him  first  four  times. 
During  the  dance  the  Chief  Priest 
stood  beside  the  Lodge-maker  and 
danced  with  him,  thus  encouraging 
him.  At  times  during  this  and  the 
following  dances  the  Lodge-maker 
stood  on  five  bunches  of  sage 
which  had  been  placed  on  the  floor 
of  the  excavation.  Thus  he  stood 

on  the  four  medicine-spirits  and  the  sun.  It  was  during  this  dance 
that  one  of  the  women  who  held  a  scapula  aloft  on  a  stick  cried  out 
to  the  dancers:  "Do  not  be  afraid  to  look  at  it;  it  is  the  moon. 
You  will  be  like  this  some  dav." 


FIG.  94.     Woman  removing  bed  from 
the  lodge. 


160     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

At  the  end  of  the  dance,  the  two  Arapaho,  as  usual,  placed  their 
pipes  and  long  willow  poles  by  the  side  of  the  center-pole,  and  all  the 
dancers  removed  their  wreaths  of  willow  and  the  five  bunches  of 
sage  and  deposited  them  at  the  foot  of  the  center-pole  and  removed 
their  paint. 

THE    FOURTH    PAINT. 

Again  the  Chief  Priest  spat  into  the  hands  of  the  grandfathers  for 
the  second  paint  of  this  day.  Food  was  brought  into  the  lodge  and 
the  sacrifice  followed.  This  time  the  Lodge-maker  took  five  pieces 
of  meat,  sacrificed  one  beneath  each  of  the  painted  reach  poles,  begin 
ning  with  the  one  on  the  southeast,  then  the  northwest,  etc.,  and 
finally  a  piece  to  the  altar,  thus  feeding  the  four 
medicine-spirits  and  the  earth.  Before  Big-Baby 
placed  the  robe  upon  the  Lodge-maker  for  this 
dance,  the  Lodge-maker  got  a  coal  with  his 
fire-spoon  and  placed  it  in  front  of  his  seat.  Big- 
Baby  gave  him  a  pinch  of  sweet-grass  and  he 
made  a  circular  motion  with  it  and  four  passes 
toward  the  coal  and  placed  it  on  the  coal.  Over 
the  rising  smoke  he  stooped,  gathering  his  robe 
about  him  to  retain  the  incense  ;  thus  uniting  the 
tribe. 

Now  began  the  dance.     On  account  of  the 
intense    heat    the    grandfathers    labored     over 

.  . 

their  men,  blowing  the     medicine     upon   their 

feet,  hands,    back,    and    head,    shaking    them, 
lodge  showing  posi 

tions  of  sage.  and  otherwise  attempting  to   relieve  their  suf 

fering.     It  was  noticed    at    this    time   that    of 

the  thirteen  dancers  who  had  held  out  until  this  morning,  two  had 
left  the  lodge,  so  that  at  the  beginning  of  this  dance  there  were 
but  eleven  of  the  original  thirty-nine  remaining,  and  of  these  two 
were  Arapaho.  (See  PI.  LIII.)  Nevertheless,  the  enthusiasm  of 
the  ceremony  at  this  time  was  at  its  height.  The  old  men  and 
women  at  the  drum  shouted  in  their  happiness,  while  other  old 
couples  openly  made  love,  to  the  immense  satisfaction  and  amuse 
ment  of  the  crowd,  which  now  was  greater  than  at  any  time 
during  the  ceremony.  (See  PI.  LIV.)  At  the  end  of  the  dance 
the  dancers  sat  down.  The  two  Arapaho  placed  their  staffs  behind 
the  altar.  One  of  the  Arapaho  took  his  pipe  to  the  assistant  Chief 
Priest  who  pointed  the  stem  toward  the  four  painted  rafters,  toward 
the  center-pole,  to  the  fork,  to  the  ground,  to  the  buffalo  skull,  turned 


CENTER  POLE 


PL.  Llll.    LINE  OF  DANCERS  AT  NOON.  LAST  DAY.    (CARPENTER.) 


V 

or  THE 


UNIVERSITY 

OF 


PL.  L!V.    GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  SUN  DANCE  LODGE.    (CARPENTER.) 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


161 


the  stem  downward  and  pointed  it  toward  the  earth ;  then  he  lighted 
it  and  went  through  the  same  movements,  offering  the  smoke. 

THE    FIFTH    PAINT. 

The  grandfathers  put  on  the  last  paint.  The  Chief  Priest  took 
a  large  bunch  of  sage  and  going  toward  the  altar  divided  it  into  five 
bunches.  He  then  arranged  four 
of  the  bunches  in  front  of  and 
around  the  altar,  their  butts  being 
directed  toward  it,  placing  them 
so  that  each  bunch  was  distinct 
from  the  others.  The  first  was 
southwest  of  the  altar,  the  second 
and  third  in  front,  and  the  fourth 
on  the  southeast  of  the  altar. 
The  fifth  bunch  he  placed  four  feet 
north  of  the  center-pole.  (See 
Fig.  95.)  Upon  these  the  Lodge- 
maker  was  to  dance,  praying  to 
the  four  medicine-spirits  and  to  the 
sun.  Many  women  now  came  for 
ward  with  offerings  of  calico, 
blankets,  etc.:  all  these  were  tied 
around  the  waist  of  the  Chief 
Priest,  who  wore  them  during  the 
next  rite.  (See  Fig.  96.) 


FIG.  96. 


Chief  Priest  wearing  gifts  of 
blankets. 


THE   CHIEF   PRIEST   DANCES   WITH    THE    LODGE-MAKER. 


After  the  dance  had 
continued  for  a  while  all 
sat  down  except  the  Chief 
Priest  and  the  Lodge- 
maker;  the  musicians 
continued  to  sing  while 
these  two  stood  and 
danced.  (See  Fig.  97.) 
During  the  first  song  the 
Lodge-maker  stood  on 
the  sage  at  the  southwest 
of  the  altar,  during  the 
second  song  he  stood  at 
the  second  bunch  of  sage. 


FIG.  Q7.     Chief  Priest  dancing  by  side  of 
Lodge-maker. 


162     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

'  \ 


FIG.  98.   Chief  Priest  and  Lodge-maker     FIG.  99.     Altar,  after  partial  destruction  by 
dancing  by  center-pole.  Lodge-maker. 

during  the  third  song  on  the  third,  during  the  fourth  song  on  the 
fourth,  and  during  the  fifth  song  on  the  sage  near  the  center-pole. 
(See  Fig.  98.)  From  this  point  the  Lodge-maker  and  Chief  Priest 
danced  or  hopped  stiff  legged,  one  foot  being  slightly  in  advance  of 
the  other,  back  and  forth  to  the  altar  four  times.  As  they  approached 
the  altar  the  fourth  time  the  Chief  Priest  pushed  the  Lodge-maker 
toward  the  white  arrows,  causing  some  of  them  to  fall.  (See  Fig.  99.) 
Thus  they  gave  thanks  to  the  four  medicine-spirits,  and  as  he  knocked 
the  white  arrows  down,  their  enemies  are  informed  that  they  are 
through  dancing.  The  Chief  Priest  and  the  Lodge-maker  then  went 
to  their  seats  and  sat  down. 

THE   FINAL   DANCE. 

The  Lodge-maker  and  all  the  other  dancers  arose  again  and  began 

dancing  and  whistling 
with  the  beginning  of  a 
new  song.  At  this  point 
the  Arapaho  and  their 
grandfathers  left  the 
lodge,  for  except  the  final 
rite  about  to  be  noted  the 
dance  was  over,  and  they 
had  fulfilled  their  vow. 
The  curtains  surround 
ing  the  lodge  were  now 
removed  sufficiently  to 
make  doors  or  openings  on 
FIG.  100.  Final  dance,  line  facing  the  east.  the  south,  west,  and  north 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSE Y. 


163 


sides.  With  the  beginning  of  a  new  song  the  dancers  formed  in  a  long 
single  line  facing  the  east  (see  Fig.  100),  dancing  and  whistling. 
At  the  end  of  the  second  song  they  moved  forward  one  step. 
Thus  they  danced  through  the  third  and  fourth  songs,  moving 
forward  at  the  end  of  each  song.  At  the  end  of  the  fourth 
song  they  ran,  led  by  the  Chief  Priest,  outside  of  the  lodge, 
turned  sharply,  and  rushed  toward  the  center-pole,  still  led  by 
the  Chief  Priest,  who  waved  in  their  faces  a  breath-feather  fastened 
to  the  end  of  a  stick  which  represented  flying  birds.  They  raced 
around  the  center-pole  twice,  then  out  again  through  the  eastern  door 
way.  Then  they  rushed  back  toward  the  center-pole  and  made  a 
dash  toward  the  south  entrance,  turned  again  and  ran  around  the 
center-pole  twice,  rushed  out  toward  the  west  entrance,  rushed  back, 
circled  around  the  cen 
ter-pole  twice  and  rushed 
toward  the  north  en 
trance.  Again  they  re 
turned,  circled  around 
the  center-pole  twice, 
still  being  led  by  the 
Chief  Priest.  By  this 
time  the  dancers  were 
fairly  reeling  and  stag 
gering  and  panting  for 
breath.  (See  Fig.  101.) 
They  turned  back  and 
rushed  toward  the  altar, 
in  front  of  which  they 
stopped  and  the  dance 

was  at  an  end.  By  this  rite  they  march  out  to  the  four  medicine- 
spirits  of  the  four  directions ;  thus  also  they  represent  the  people 
going  to  their  homes,  full  of  life  and  animation.  During  this 
exciting  performance  the  musicians  sang  and  shouted  to  a  degree  not 
hitherto  noted  during  the  ceremony,  while  all  the  spectators,  except 
the  priests  and  chiefs,  shouted  and  encouraged  the  dancers. 

BREAKING   THE    FAST. 

The  dancers  took  their  places  by  the  grandfathers  who  removed 
their  wreaths,  which  the  dancers  placed  in  a  heap  at  the  foot  of  the 
center-pole.  Then  the  grandfathers  touched  the  symbols  of  the 
dancers  with  sage  dipped  in  water,  and  the  dancers  washed  as  before. 
While  Sage-Woman,  the  Chief  Priest's  wife,  was  preparing  water  for 


FIG.  101.     Final  dance,  led  by  Chief  Priest. 


164     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

the  Lodge-maker's  wife,  the  Chief  Priest  and  the  Lodge-maker  sat 
down  by  a  bowl  of  water.  The  former  touched  his  finger  to  the 
ground,  to  his  tongue,  took  a  bite  of  root,  and  spat  into  the  water  five 
times,  first  to  the  southeast,  then  in  the  southwest,  the  northwest,  and 
the  northeast  corners,  and  finally  in  the  center.  The  Lodge-maker  moved 
his  head  gently  toward  the  water  four  times,  and  then  a  fifth  time,  but 
with  a  much  more  decided  movement,  and  drank  from  the  water.  As 
soon  as  the  dancers  had  washed  themselves  they  drank,  without 
formality,  from  pails  of  water  which  had  been  brought  by  their 
relatives.  Then  each  one  caused  violent  vomiting  by  tickling  his 
throat  with  a  grass  stem  (see  Fig.  102),  after  which  each  one  was 


FIG.  102.     The  emetic.     (Mooney.) 

taken  by  his  grandfather  to  a  sweat-lodge  which  had  been  erected  by 
relatives  during  the  close  of  the  ceremony.  This  sweat  bath  did 
not  differ  from  the  ordinary  sweat  bath.  It  is  merely  a  purification 
\  rite,  and  is  said  to  depend  for  its  efficacy  on  the  sage  on  which  the 
bathers  sit. 

SMOKING   THE   SACRED   PIPE. 

The  lodge  was  now  completely  deserted  except  by  the  Chief  Priest, 
the  Lodge-maker,  and  two  priests  who  sat  on  the  northeast  side  of  the 
altar.  The  Lodge-maker  removed  the  sacred  pipe  from  the  altar,  got  a 
live  coal  from  the  fireplace  and  placed  it  in  front  of  the  Chief  Priest, 
who  lighted  the  pipe  and  offered  the  stem  to  the  four  painted  reach 
poles,  to  the  center-pole,  to  the  altar,  to  the  earth,  and  then  smoked. 
The  pipe  was  passed  from  the  east  end  of  the  line  toward  the  west, 
each  priest  smoking  it ;  it  was  handed  back  unsmoked  to  the  east  end 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


165 


of  the  line ;  thus  it  passed  back  and  forth  four  times.  The  ashes  were 
removed  without  formality  by  the  Chief  Priest,  who  rubbed  his 
hands  up  and  down  the  pipe  on  each  side  of  the  stem  and  handed 
it  to  the  Lodge-maker,  who  took  the  pipe  to  himself  twice  on  each 
side,  then  along  the  median  line  of  his  body.  The  Chief  Priest 
cleansed  the  bowl  more  thoroughly  and  tied  the  pipe  and  the  buffalo 
chip  up  in  the  bundle,  which  all  this  time  had  been  lying  at  the 
south  side  of  the  altar. 

THE   SWEAT   BATH. 

The  Lodge-maker  went  with  his  wife  to  their  tipi,  where  he  filled 
a  pipe.  They  went  to  the  tipi  of  the  Chief  Priest,  to  whom  on 
entering  the  Lodge-maker  handed  the  pipe.  Then  the  Chief  Priest 
made  a  small  "earth"  two  inches  in  diameter,  lighted  the  pipe,  and 
made  the  usual  sacrifices.  The  Lodge-maker  took  a  piece  of  meat, 
blackened  it  with  charcoal,  and  placed  it  in  the  Chief  Priest's  mouth. 
Then  they  smoked  four  pipes  full  of  tobacco  and  ate.  The  Chief 
Priest's  wife  and  his  relatives  have  received  during  the  ceremony 
many  presents ;  these  were  now  given  to  the  Lodge-maker  and  his  wife. 
In  the  mean  time  a  sweat  bath  had  been  erected  by  the  friends  of 
the  Chief  Priest,  differing  in  no  way  from  the  ordinary  sweat  bath. 
The  Chief  Priest  and  his  wife  and  the  Lodge-maker  and  his  wife 
went  into  the  sweat-lodge  for  the  purpose  of  purifying  themselves, 
especially  with  the  belief  that  thus  they  may  retain  all  the  medicines 
which  they  have  received  during  the  lodge.  There  were  no  rites  or 
singing  connected  with  this  bath.  After  the  bath  the  Chief  Priest  gave 
to  the  Lodge-maker  five  different  kinds  of  roots  to  be  used  as  med- 


FIG.  103.     The  ahandoned  lodge. 


166     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

icines.     These  roots  were  similar  to  those  used  in  the  Sun  Dance  cere 
mony. 

THE  FATE  OF  THE  SUN  DANCE  LODGE. 

As  with  the  Arapaho,  the  lodge  is  not  supposed  to  be  molested 
after  the  termination  of  the  dance.  Everything  is  left  as  a  sacrifice  by 
the  tribe  to  the  great  medicine-spirit.  (See  Fig.  103.)  The  omission 
by  the  Cheyenne  of  the  sacrifice  of  clothing  to  the  center-pole  and  the 
lodge  in  general  is  in  marked  variance  with  the  custom  of  the 
Arapaho.  While  no  one  is  supposed  to  molest  the  lodge  after  the 
ceremony,  the  Chief  Priest  may  claim  the  right  to  take  anything 
from  the  lodge,  bless  it,  and  give  it  to  any  one  who  is  in  trouble,  the 
gift  being  supposed  to  be  efficacious  in  removing  the  trouble. 


PART   III.— PAINTS   WORN   BY   THE   DANCERS. 

As  the  successive  events  of  the  ceremony  make  for  progress  toward 
a  certain  definite 'result,  so  the  paints  also  progress  in  character 
toward  a  definite  end.  Unlike  the  paints  worn  in  the  Arapaho  cere 
mony,  which  showed  great  variation,  and  which  to  a  considerable  ex 
tent  may  be  characterized  as  "dream-paints,"  those  of  the  Cheyenne, 
with  one  or  two  exceptions  about  to  be  noted,  were  uniform  for  all  the 
dancers,  including,  for  the  greater  part  of  the  time,  that  worn  by  the 
Lodge-maker  himself.  The  paint  worn  before  the  erection  of  the 
altar,  that  is  by  the  Lodge-maker  and  his  wife  when  they  left  the 
Lone-tipi,  and  by  the  dancers  themselves  when  they  entered  the 
lodge  on  the  night  of  its  erection,  has  already  been  described.  It  may 
be  repeated  here  that  the  white  paint  worn  by  the  dancers  on  enter 
ing  the  lodge  is  in  a  certain  sense  of  a  purifying  nature,  it  covers 
all  disease,  bodily  imperfections,  etc.,  which,  when  the  paint  is  re 
moved,  are  washed  away  with  it. 

There  is  a  prescribed  method  for  painting  the  dancers  on  each  of 
the  four  days  during  which  they  are  supposed  to  fast.  As  a  matter 
of  fact,  however,  in  neither  the  ceremony  of  1901  nor  of  1903  did  the 
ceremony  last  four  days;  as  a  consequence,  in  the  effort  to  represent 
all  the  regular  paints  before  the  ceremony  closed,  a  certain  amount  of 
confusion  resulted.  In  the  ceremony  of  1901,  not  all  the  pre 
scribed  paints  were  represented.  All  but  one  were  represented  in 
the  ceremony  of  1903  ;  but  the  time  during  which  each  paint  was  worn 
was  much  curtailed.  The  theoretical  scheme  of  the  paints,  the  days 
being  numbered  in  accordance  with  the  Cheyenne  system,  when 


OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.  LV. 


FIG.  A. 


FIG.  B. 


PL.  LV.    FIG.  A.    LODGE-MAKER'S  WIFE,  FIRST  PAINT. 

FlG.   B.     LODGE-MAKER'S    WlFE,  SECOND    PAINT. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  167 

speaking  of  the  paints,  of  calling  the   altar  day  the  first  day,  is   as 
follows : 

Day  Number  of  Paint  Name  of  Paint 

First  First  Yellow 

Second  Second  Pink 

Third  Third  White  (Hail) 

a  Green 
b  White 

Fourth  Fourth  Black  (Cyclone) 

a  Green 
b  White 

It  will  be  seen  that  this  scheme  takes  no  notice  of  the  fact  that  all 
the  dancers  were  painted  white  on  their  introduction  to  the  lodge  on  the 
night  of  its  erection.  In  comparing  the  paints  worn  in  the  ceremony  of 
1 903  with  the  scheme  given  above,  it  will  be  noticed  that  on  the  first  day 
the  Yellow-paint  and  the  Green-Hail-paint  were  represented,  although, 
as  will  be  seen,  on  the  second  day  the  white-Hail  paint  and  the  green 
and  white  Cyclone  paint  were  represented.  Consequently,  in  describ 
ing  the  paints  I  shall  speak  of  the  first  and  second  paints  of  the  first  day, 
and  the  first,  second,  and  third  paints  of  the  second  day,  in 
order  that  they  may  be  localized  as  regards  particular  events 
which  have  already  been  described.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  how 
ever,  that  while  the  first  paint  of  the  first  day  is  the  first  paint,  the 
second  paint  of  the  first  day  should  be  the  second  day's  paint.  The 
first  paint  of  the  second  day,  the  Hail-paint,  should  belong  to  the  third 
day,  while  the  second  and  third  paints  of  the  second  day,  the  Black  or 
Cyclone-paint,  belong  properly  to  the  fourth  day.  It  is  also  to  be 
noted  here  that  part  of  the  time  the  Lodge-maker's  wife  wore  paints 
not  represented  by  the  other  dancers;  also  that  one  individual  wore 
paint  different  from  the  others;  and  finally,  that  the  two  Arapaho. 
being  painted  by  Arapaho,  wore  paints  which  were  quite  foreign  to 
the  general  scheme  of  the  Cheyenne  ceremony.  It  remains,  there 
fore,  to  describe  in  order  the  paint  worn  by  the  Lodge-maker's  wife, 
certain  peculiarities  of  the  Lodge-maker's  paint,  the  regular  paint, 
the  paint  worn  by  a  single  individual,  and  finally  the  paint  worn  by 
the  two  Arapaho. 

PAINTS    WORN    BY   THE    LODGE-MAKER'S    WIFE. 

FIRST  PAIXT.  The  paint  about  to  be  described  was  worn  by 
both  the  lodge-maker  and  his  wife  on  the  morning  of  the  erection  of 
the  altar,  and  hence  may  be  considered  as  the  first  paint  of  the  first 
day.  The  entire  bodies  of  both  individuals  (see  PL  LV.,  Fig.  a)  were 


1 68     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOC.Y,  VOL.  IX. 

painted  solidly  in  red,  the  color  being  so  applied  that  the  marks  of  the 
fingers  were  as  much  as  possible  obliterated.  A  straight  black  line 
passed  down  the  center  of  the  face,  over  the  middle  of  the  nose, 
across  the  center  of  the  mouth,  and  terminated  at  the  end  of  the  chin. 
On  the  middle  of  the  right  cheek  was  a  round,  black  spot  or  sun  sym 
bol,  while  on  the  left  cheek  was  a  black  crescent  or  moon  symbol.  On 
the  center  of  the  breast  was  a  similar,  but  larger,  black  circle ;  it  also 
represented  the  sun.  On  the  back  of  the  right  shoulder  was  a  large 
black  crescent  or  moon  symbol.  A  black  line  encircled  both  wrists 
and  ankles. 

SECOND  PAINT.  The  second  paint  (see  PI.  LV.,  Fig.  6)  worn  by  the 
woman,  and  which  in  the  ceremony  of  1903  was  worn  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  altar  day,  was  as  follows:  The  body,  except  the  face,  as  before, 
was  painted  solidly  red.  The  face  was  painted  black,  the  color  being 
applied  with  the  palm  side  of  the  wrist  by  Sage-Woman,  who  always 
painted  her.  On  the  center  of  her  breast  was  a  black  sun  symbol, 
and  her  wrists  and  ankles  were  encircled  with  black  bands.  On  the 
back  of  her  right  shoulder  *was  a  moon  symbol. 

THIRD  PAINT.  The  third  paint  of  the  woman,  worn  as  the  first 
paint  of  the  second  day,  was  exactly  like  the  paint  which  she  wore 
on  the  preceding  evening,  and  which  has  been  called  her  second  paint. 

FOURTH  AND  FIFTH  PAINT.  Her  fourth  and  fifth  paints,  the  second 
and  tliird  of  the  second  day,  were  the  same.  (See  PI.  LVI.,  Fig.  a.)  Her 
body  was  painted  red  and  the  black  sun  symbol  was  applied  on  her 
breast  and  a  black  moon  symbol  on  her  right  shoulder,  black  bands 
encircling  her  wrists  and  ankles.  About  the  face  was  a  band  of 
red,  lighter  in  color  than  that  of  the  body,  and  so  applied  as  to  form 
the  symbol  of  the  morning  star.  The  space  within  this  red  line  was 
filled  solidly  in  green. 

PAINTS    WORN    BY    THE    LODGE-MAKER. 

The  Lodge-maker's  paint  in  general  was  like  that  worn  by  all  the 
dancers,  the  only  exception  being  his  first  and  second  paints;  that  is, 
the  first  and  second  paints  of  the  first  day,  and  of  these  the  first  was 
like  that  worn  by  his  wife,  and  already  has  been  described. 

SECOND  PAINT.  The  second  paint  of  the  Lodge-maker  was  a 
modification  of  the  first  variety  of  the  so-called  Hail-paint,  and  was 
worn  as  the  second  or  afternoon  paint  of  the  first  day.  (See  PI.  LVI., 
Fig.  b.)  A  band  of  red  was  drawn  around  his  waist  at  the  line  of 
the  naval,  forming  a  boundary  between  the  lower  half  of  his  body, 
which  was  painted  solidly  in  red,  and  the  upper  half,  which  was 
painted  solidly  in  black.  On  the  black  ground  on  the  breast  was 


PL.  LVI.    FIG.  A.    LODGE-MAKER'S  WIFE,  FOURTH  AND  FIFTH  PAINTS. 
FIG.  B.    LODGE-MAKER,  SECOND  PAINT. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   LVI. 


FIG.  A. 


FIG.  B. 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY.    PL.   LVII. 


;••„. 
'*•«« 


FIG.  A. 


FIG.  B. 


PL.  LVM.    FIG.  A.    THE  YELLOW  PAINT. 
FIG.  B.    THE  PINK  PAINT. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  169 

drawn  a  circular  symbol,  outlined  first  by  a  red  line,  then  by  an  en 
circling  black  line ;  the  area  within  the  red  line  was  filled  solidly  in 
green.  Radiating  from  points  equidistant  apart  on  this  breast  symbol 
were  four  green  lines,  two  of  which  passed  upward  toward  the  shoulder 
and  down  to  a  red  line  surrounding  each  arm,  corresponding  in 
position  to  the  red  line  about  the  waist  and  which  separated  the 
black  of  the  upper  arm  from  the  red  of  the  lower  arm.  Two  other 
lines  of  green  passed  downward  from  the  circular  breast  symbol 
and  terminated  in  the  red  line  about  the  waist.  A  similar  circular  sym 
bol  was  placed  upon  the  face,  the  region  about  the  eyes,  nose,  and 
mouth  first  being  painted  green  and  surrounded  by  a  red  line 
within  the  black  space  which  occupied  the  remainder  of  the  face. 
On  the  back  of  the  right  shoulder  was  a  crescent-shaped  symbol  of 
similar  color,  that  is  with  a  green  center,  inclosed  within  a  red  and  a 
black  line.  At  various  places  over  the  black  field  of  the  upper  part  of 
the  body  were  green  dots  an  inch  in  diameter,  made  with  the  end  of 
a  round  stick.  Around  the  wrists  and  ankles  were  black  encircling 
bands.  A  straight  black  line  joined  the  bands  around  the  wrists  to 
the  red  band  just  above  the  elbow.  Over  the  red  field  of  the  lower 
part  of  the  body,  including  the  legs  and  forearm,  after  the  paint  had 
dried,  the  priest  applied  here  and  there  designs  made  by  slapping 
the  body  with  willow  leaves  which  had  been  dipped  in  red  paint. 

With  this  paint  the  Lodge-maker  wore  a  willow  wreath  around  his 
head,  a  bandoleer  of  willow  over  his  left  shoulder  and  under  his  right 
arm,  a  willow  band  about  his  waist,  and  willow  wreaths  about  his 
wrists  and  ankles. 

THIRD,  FOURTH,  AND  FIFTH  PAINTS.  The  remaining  paints  worn 
by  the  Lodge-maker,  namely,  the  third,  fourth,  and  fifth,  and  includ 
ing  those  worn  on  the  second  day,  were,  with  one  exception,  to 
be  noted  later,  exactly  the  same  as  those  worn  by  the  other  dancers, 
and  will  be  described  with  the  prescribed  paints. 

PRESCRIBED    OR    REGULAR    PAINTS. 

Before  giving  a  detailed  description  of  the  regular  paints,  it  may 
be  noted  that  when  they  are  given  in  full  they  fall  into  four  groups, 
which  originally  were  worn  on  the  four  days.  The  first  is  known  as  the 
Yellow-paint ;  the  second  as  the  Pink-paint ;  the  third  as  the  White-  or 
Hail-paint;  the  fourth  as  the  Black-or  Cyclone-or  Dragon-fly-paint. 

i.-THE    YELLOW-PAINT 

This  is  the  first  paint,  and  is  worn  on  the  morning  of  the  altar  day. 
The  entire  body  (see  PL  LVIL,  Fig  a),  including  the  face  and  hair,  were 


170     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

painted  yellow ;  the  paint  on  the  face  and  body  was  given  a  ribbed  or 
grained  effect  by  drawing  the  tips  of  the  fingers  over  it  before  it  was  dry. 
Over  this  yellow  paint  across  the  face  just  above  the  mouth  were  laid 
two  parallel  rows  of  ten  green  dots.  Upon  the  breast  was  placed  a  cir 
cular  symbol  of  the  sun,  made  of  two  concentric  circles  of  green  dots; 
a  similar  arrangement  of  dots  was  made  to  form  the  crescent-shape 
moon  symbol  on  the  back  of  the  right  shoulder.  Around  the  wrists 
and  ankles  were  also  two  parallel  rows  of  green  dots.  According  to 
one  of  the  priests,  this  paint,  as  above  described  and  worn  on  this  day, 
was  incorrect;  he  contended  that  the  sun  and  moon  symbols  and  the 
lines  about  the  wrists  and  ankles  should  not  have  been  made  by 
means  of  dots,  but  of  narrow,  black,  continuous  lines. 

With  this  paint  were  worn  a  waist-band  of  sage;  wreaths  of  sage 
about  wrists  and  ankles ;  and  the  usual  five  bunches  of  sage  inserted  in 
the  waist-band.  Thrust  into  the  hair  at  the  back  of  the  head  was  a 
stem  of  sweet-grass. 

2.— THE    PINK-PAINT. 

The  appropriate  paint  of  the  second  day  is  known  as  the  Pink- 
paint.  It  was  not  worn  by  any  of  the  dancers  of  the  1903  ceremony, 
although  the  Lodge-maker  wore  a  modification  of  it.  The  illustration 
here  given  (see  PI.  LVIL,  Fig.  b)  and  the  description  are  from  the  1901 
ceremony.  The  entire  body  was  painted  pink,  over  which  were  mark 
ings  of  fine,  small  willow  leaves  made  by  sharply  slapping  the  body 
with  young  willow  boughs  which  had  been  dipped  in  paint.  Upon 
the  breast  was  a  large  black  sun  symbol ;  around  the  face  was  a  black 
line  passing  over  the  middle  of  the  forehead,  across  the  chin,  and  just  in 
front  of  the  ears ;  on  the  back  of  the  right  shoulder  was  a  large  moon 
symbol  in  black ;  around  each  wrist  and  each  ankle  was  a  black  encir 
cling  band.  With  this  paint  were  worn  a  willow  leaf  head-band  and 
waist-band,  and  willow  wreaths  about  the  wrists  and  ankles. 

3.— THE   WHITE-   OR   HAIL-PAINT. 

The  White  or  Hail  paint  is  known  as  the  third  paint  and  in  a  cere 
mony  of  four  fasting  days  belongs  to  the  third  day.  There  are  two 
varieties  of  this  paint,  one  known  as  the  green-Hail,  the  other  as  the 
white-Hail;  the  first  should  be  worn  in  the  forenoon,  the  second  in  the 
afternoon. 

a.     THE  GREEN-WHITE-,  OR  HAIL-PAINT. 

Owing  to  the  crowding  of  the  events  of  the  ceremony  in  1903  this 
variety  of  the  Hail-paint  was  worn  on  the  afternoon  of  the  first  day,  as 
the  second  paint  of  that  day.  It  closely  resembled  the  paint  worn  by 


^rs^n 

I  OF   THE 

I  UNIVERS 


^ 

VERSITY  j 
V     ^    °F    viV 


FIELD   COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.  LVIII. 


FIG.  A. 


FIG.  B. 


PL.  LVIII.    FIG.  A.    THE  GREEN-WHITE  OR  HAIL  PAINT. 
FIG.  B.    THE  WHITE-WHITE  OR  HAIL  PAINT. 


3TIHW    3 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  171 

the  Lodge-maker.  The  chief  difference  was  that  a  rectangular-shaped 
or  morning  star  symbol  was  worn  on  the  breast,  with  the  usual  circular 
sun  symbol  on  the  face ;  thus  reversing  the  order  of  the  symbols  as  worn 
by  the  Lodge-maker.  (See  PI.  LVIIL,  Fig.  a.)  Another  difference 
lay  in  the  fact  that  the  black  road  or  trail  marks  extended  from  the 
ankles  to  the  waist  line.  The  same  wreaths  were  worn  as  already  de 
scribed  for  the  Lodge-maker. 

b.     THE  WHITE-WHITE-  OR  HAIL-PAINT. 

This  was  worn  as  the  first  paint  of  the  second  day.  (See  PL 
LVIII.,  Fig.  b.)  Around  the  waist  and  arms,  just  above  the  elbows, 
were  red  bands;  all  above  this  was  painted  black,  all  below  white. 
Around  the  wrists  and  ankles  were  black  lines ;  extending  upward  from 
the  ankles  were  black  lines  which  joined  the  waist-band;  similar 
lines  joined  the  bands  around  the  wrists  and  arms ;  on  the  breast 
was  the  morning-star  symbol  and  on  the  face  the  circular-sun 
symbol.  Both  these  symbols  were  outlined  in  red  and  filled  solidly 
in  green.  From  the  sun  symbol  a  green  line  passed  upward  on  each 
side  to  the  shoulder  and  downward  on  the  arms  to  the  red  elbow 
band,  and  two  green  lines  extended  to  the  red  waist-band.  On  the 
black  upper  surface  of  the  body  were  large  white  dots ;  on  the  white 
lower  surface  of  the  body  were  willow  leaf  marks  in  red.  The  black 
upper  body  with  its  white  dots  is  symbolic  of  black  clouds  and  white 
hail  lying  about  the  white  earth ;  while  the  marks  in  red  upon  the  white 
extremities  made  by  the  willow  leaves,  symbolize  the  vegetation  of  the 
earth.  It  may  be  noted  that  while  the  morning  star  was  represented 
on  the  preceding  day  as  above  the  sun,  on  this  day  it  was  represented 
as  below,  for  "it  moves,  now  up,  now  down.  The  color  of  the  morn 
ing  star  and  of  the  other  stars  varies  as  does  that  of  the  sun ;  hence 
the  different  colors." 

In  connection  with  this  paint  was  worn  a  willow  wreath  about  the 
head,  symbolic  of  the  sun,  which  causes  growth,  and  around  the  neck 
a  willow  wreath  passing  under  the  left  arm.  The  band  around  the 
waist  typified  the  moon,  while  that  of  the  extremities  was  symbolic 
of  the  four  medicine-spirits.  The  pink  earth  of  the  first  paint  is  also 
contrasted  with  the  white  earth  of  to-day. 

The  lines  of  the  body  lead  to  the  heart,  and  are  roads  of  prayers — 
"Go  to  my  heart  and  make  me  strong.  " 


172     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

4.-THE    BLACK-,  CYCLONE-,  OR   DRAGON-FLY-PAINT. 

This  is  the  last  paint  of  the  ceremony,  and  in  a  performance 
with  four  fasting  days  belongs  to  the  fourth  day.  Like  the  White  or 
Hail  paint  there  are  two  varieties,  the  green  and  white,  which 
should  be  worn  on  the  forenoon  and  afternoon  respectively.  In  the 
ceremony  under  consideration  they  were  the  second  and  third  paints 
of  the  second  day. 

a.     THE  GREEN-BLACK-,  OR  CYCLONE-PAINT. 

This  was  the  second  paint  of  the  second  day.  About  the  waist  and 
elbows  were  red  encircling  lines,  the  entire  surface  above  these  lines 
being  painted  black,  while  the  surface  below  was  pink.  (See  PI.  LIX., 
Fig.  a.)  On  the  breast  was  a  circular  sun  symbol  in  green,  sur 
rounded  by  a  red  line,  from  the  upper  surface  of  which  radiated  upward 
toward  the  shoulders  and  down  the  arms  a  green  line,  which  ter 
minated  in  the  red  bands  about  the  elbows.  From  the  lower  surface  of 
the  sun  symbol  passed  two  green  lines  which  terminated  in  the  red  line 
around  the  waist.  On  the  face  was  painted  the  large  symbol  of  the 
morning  star  in  green,  surrounded  by  a  line  of  red.  On  the  back  of 
the  right  shoulder  was  a  large  moon  symbol  in  green  bordered  with  red. 
Scattered  irregularly  over  this  upper  back  surface  of  the  body  were 
symbols  of  dragon-flies  in  green,  averaging  about  three  inches  in 
length.  Thus  there  were  in  all  eight  or  ten  of  these  on  the  black 
outer  surface  of  the  face,  two  on  each  side  of  the  forehead,  and  two  or 
three  on  the  jaws.  The  green  dragon-fly  symbols  were  also  thickly 
scattered  on  the  back.  On  the  lower  pink  surface  of  the  body  were 
the  black  road  lines  connecting  the  red  band  about  the  waist  with  the 
ankles  and  the  red  bands  about  the  elbows  with  the  black  bands  about 
the  waist.  Over  the  pink  area  were  the  markings  made  by  willow 
leaves  dipped  in  red  paint. 

With  this  paint  was  worn  a  willow  wreath  on  the  head  and  waist, 
and  small  willow  wreaths  about  the  wrists  and  ankles.  Before  the 
wreaths  were  put  on  they  were  directed  toward  the  east,  south,  north, 
then  upward. 

In  this  paint  the  pink  represented  the  earth,  especially  its 
growth,  such  as  flowers,  etc.  The  four  roads,  as  usual,  led  from  the 
medicine-spirits  to  the  heart.  The  black  was  symbolic  of  the  clouds, 
while  the  green  dragon-flies  symbolized  the  wind,  cyclone  or 
whirlwind.  They  are  supposed  to  bring  the  streams,  hence  water, 
and  hence  rain  to  make  the  water.  The  kilts  worn  with  this  paint 
were  painted  with  symbols  of  rabbit  tracks,  the  kilt  first  being 


PL.  LIX.    FIG.  A.    THE  GREEN-BLACK  OR  CYCLONE  PAINT. 
FIG.  B.    THE  WHITE-BLACK  OR  CYCLONE  PAINT. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   LIX. 


FIG.  A. 


FIG.  B. 


dO 

aa 

3H.L  JO 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   LX. 


1   I 


1 


FIG.  A. 


FIG.  B. 


PL.  LX.    FIG.  A.    SPECIAL  PAINT. 
FIG.  B.    SPECIAL  PAINT. 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


painted  brown   so  as  to  make  it  look  old,  thus  expressing  the   wish 
that  the  dancers  will  grow  old. 

b.     THE   WHITE-BLACK-,  OR  CYCLOXE-PAINT. 

This  variety  of  the  so-called  Black-paint,  and  representing  the 
white  cyclone,  was  the  third  paint  of  the  second  day.  (See  PI.  LIX., 
Fig.  b.)  It  differed  from  that  described  in  the  color  of  the  dragon-flies, 
which  were  now  white  instead  of  green,  and  in  the  color  of  the  body 
below  the  waist  and  the  elbow  lines,  which  was  now  white  instead  of 
pink;  the  mark 
ings  made  by 
the  willows  were 
pink  instead  of 
red.  (See  Fig. 
104.)  According 
to  one  of  my 
informants  the 
upper  part  of 
the  body  in  this 
variety  should 
have  been  blue 
instead  of  black. 
A  variation  in 
this  paint  may 
be  worn  by  those 
who  have  missed 


104.     Dancers  wearing. the  white  Cyclone-paint. 


none  of  the  paints  during  the  dance ;  they  have  the  privilege  of  having 
their  right  arm  painted  entirely  black  with  an  extra  large  sun  symbol 
on  the  breast,  and  an  extra  large  moon  symbol  on  the  back. 

SPECIAL    PAINTS    WORN    IN    1903. 

A  certain  individual  whose  name  was  not  learned,  for  the  first 
paint  of  1903  was  decorated  differently  from  the  other  dancers. 
(See  PI.  LX.,  Fig.  a.)  This  was  due  to  the  fact  that  his  grandfather, 
or  the  one  who  painted  him,  possessed  a  certain  kind  of  dream-paint. 
The  dancer's  entire  body  was  painted  yellow.  Around  his  face  was 
a  line  in  red  passing  over  his  eyebrows  and  across  the  middle  of  his 
chin;  beneath  each  eye  was  a  forked  symbol  representing  lightning. 
On  his  breast  was  a  large  circular  sun  symbol,  and  on  his  right  shoulder 
was  a  large  red  moon  symbol.  On  the  outer  upper  and  lower  arms  and 
outer  and  upper  and  lower  legs  were  short  red  lines  about  four 
inches  in  length.  A  red  band  encircled  his  wrists  and  ankles. 


174     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

The  same  individual  on  the  afternoon  of  this  day  was  painted  as 
follows:  His  whole  body  (see  PI.  LX.,  Fig.  b)  was  painted  yellow. 
On  his  breast  was  a  large  black  sun  symbol  and  on  the  back  of  his  right 
shoulder  was  a  large  black  moon  symbol.  His  face  was  painted 
red,  surrounded  by  a  black  line.  Beneath  each  eye  was  a  forked 
zigzag  lightning  symbol.  Black  bands  encircled  his  wrists  and  ankles, 
and  straight  black  lines  were  drawn  upon  his  outer,  upper,  and  lower 
arms.  Scattered  irregularly  over  his  body,  both  front  and  back,  were 
marks  made  by  striking  his  body  with  willow  leaves  dipped  in  red 
paint.  The  remaining  paints  of  this  dancer  were  regular. 

Another  individual  for  the  second  paint  of  the  first  day  had  the 
whole  surface  of  his  body,  including  his  face,  painted  yellow.  (See 
PL  LXI.,  Fig.  a.)  Over  this  were  the  imprints  of  willow  leaves  in 
white.  On  his  breast  and  back  were  the  black  sun  and  moon  symbols 
respectively.  Black  bands  encircled  his  wrists  and  ankles.  Upon  his 
upper  and  lower  arms  were  two  carefully  made  and  realistic  symbols 
of  buffalo  hoofs.  About  his  face  was  a  black  encircling  line,  and  under 
his  eyes  were  forked  zigzag  lightning  symbols. 

This  same  individual  wore  this  same  paint  as  the  first  on  the  second 
day,  except  that  he  had  a  red  line  around  his  face,  red  bands  on  his 
wrists  and  ankles,  and  a  large  sun  and  moon  symbol  on  his  right 
breast  and  back  of  the  left  shoulder  respectively. 

PAINTS    WORN    BY    THE    ARAPAHO. 

The  presence  of  the  two  Arapaho  in  the  ceremony  has  already 
been  noted.  A  description  of  their  paints  is  here  given;  it  was  not 
found  possible  to  obtain  an  explanation  for  them. 

For  the  first  paint  (see  PI.  LXI.,  Fig.  6)  of  the  first  day  the  whole 
body  was  painted  red.  Around  the  face,  wrists,  and  ankles  was  a 
band  of  black.  On  the  center  of  the  breast  and  at  the  back  of  the 
right  shoulder  was  a  black  sun  and  moon  symbol  respectively.  On 
the  nose  was  a  black  dot. 

For  the  second  paint  of  the  two  Arapaho  on  the  first  day  (see 
PI.  LXIL,  Fig.  a)  the  entire  body,  including  the  face,  was  painted  a 
dull  deep  red;  on  the  nose  was  a  black  dot.  About  the  face,  wrists, 
and  ankles  were  black  lines.  On  the  breast  was  a  black  sun  symbol. 
Just  above  and  on  each  side  of  this  were  two  realistic  symbols  of  pipes 
in  black.  On  the  back  of  each  shoulder  was  a  smaller  symbol  of  a  pipe 
in  black.  Under  the  pipe  symbol  on  the  right  shoulder  was  the  cres 
cent-shaped  moon  symbol. 

The  first  and  second  paints  of  the  two  Arapaho  on  the  second  day 
were  almost  the  same.  At  both  times  the  entire  body  was  painted 


PL.  LXI.    FIG.  A.    SPECIAL  PAINT. 

FIG.  B.    FIRST  PAINT  OF  THE  ARAPAHO. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.    LXI. 


1t 


ir 


I! 


FIG.  A. 


FIG.  B. 


PL.  LXII.    FIG.  A.    SECOND  PAINT  OF  THE  ARAPAHO. 

FIG.  B.    THIRD  AND  FOURTH  PAINTS  OF  THE  ARAPAHO. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.   LXII. 


I 


FIG.  A. 


FIG.  B. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  175 

yellow,  and  a  red  band  encircled  the  face,  wrists,  and  ankles.  A  black 
spot  was  made  in  the  center  of  the  bridge  of  the  nose.  There  were  two 
large  pipe  symbols  in  red,  their  bowls  facing,  on  the  upper  part  of 
the  chest  and  on  the  back;  they  surmounted  a  symbol  of  the  sun  on 
the  breast  and  of  the  moon  on  the  back.  For  the  second  paint  of  this 
day  the  sun  symbol  was  placed  much  lower  from  the  pipes  than  it  was 
in  the  first  paint. 

The  third  paint  worn  by  the  two  Arapaho  on  the  second  day  dif 
fered  from  that  just  described  (see  PI.  LXIL,  Fig.  6)  only  in  that  the 
pipe  symbols  were  replaced  by  solid  rectangular  figures. 


PART   IV.— TORTURE. 

The  rite  of  sacrifice  by  means  of  self-inflicted  torture  was  com 
mon  to  many  of  the  Plains  tribes,  and  was  practiced  by  no  tribe  to 
a  greater  extent,  so  far  as  known,  than  by  the  Cheyenne.  In 
treating  the  subject  as  it  bears  upon  the  ceremony  under  considera 
tion,  two  points  of  view  appear:  torture  as  it  was  practiced  before 
it  had  been  discontinued  through  the  intervention  of  the  whites ;  the 
torture  incident  of  the  ceremony  of  1903. 

ANCIENT    FORMS    OF    TORTURE. 

The  individual  who  was  to  undergo  torture  during  the  Sun  Dance 
in  former  times  may  or  may  not  have  been  one  of  the  number  of  the 
dancers,  for  torture  did  not  depend,  as  may  be  inferred  from  what  has 
already  been  said,  upon  the  particular  warrior  society  to  which  the 
subject  belonged,  but  rather  upon  a  vow  taken  voluntarily.  A  cer 
tain  amount  of  discrepancy  prevails  in  accounts  given  by  different 
informants  as  to  whether  certain  days  were  reserved  exclusively  for 
certain  kinds  of  torture.  It  would  seem  that  as  a  rule  torture  was 
not  performed  on  the  day  that  the  altar  was  erected,  but  on  one  or 
more  of  the  three  following  fasting  days.  Two  distinct  forms  of 
Sun  Dance  torture  were  recognized,  each  form  being  capable  of  ex 
tensive  variation.  Still  another  form  of  torture  was  practiced,  soon 
to  be  noted,  the  infliction  of  which,  however,  was  not  necessarily 
dependent  upon  the  Sun  Dance. 

Probably  the  most  common  form  of  torture  and  the  one  most 
intimately  connected  with  the  Sun  Dance,  was  by  attachment  in  one 
form  or  another  to  the  center-pole.  In  the  simplest  form  of  torture 
of  this  kind,  two  small  skewers  about  two  and  a  half  inches  in  length 
were  inserted  by  a  medicine  man  in  the  breast  of  the  subject,  just 


1 76     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

above  the  nipples.  In  performing  this  operation  the  subject  sat  down 
upon  the  ground,  leaning  back  on  his  hands,  thus  permitting  the  priest 
freedom  of  access  to  his  breast.  The  latter  then  would  take  the  loose 
skin  of  the  breast  between  thumb  and  forefinger,  and  slightly 
extending  it,  would  pierce  it,  either  with  a  large  awl  or  with  an  old 
knife  which  had  been  ground  down  almost  to  a  point.  Through  the 
hole  thus  formed  was  inserted  a  skewer,  over  which  was  lapped  a 
buckskin  thong,  the  ends  of  which  were  tied  to  the  two  ends  of 
a  long  rawhide  lariat.  The  free  end  of  this  lariat  had  already  been 
attached  to  the  bundle  in  the  fork  of  the  center-pole,  and  its  length 
was  so  fixed  that  it  permitted  the  one  about  to  undergo  tor 
ture  to  stand  a  short  distance  from  the  center-pole.  Thus  he  could 
either  dance  all  night,  when  at  morning  one  side  of  the  skin  about  the 
skewers  would  be  cut  and  he  would  be  freed,  or  he  would  jerk  away 
at  once.*  When  the  individual  was  to  dance  during  the  entire  night, 
thus  attached  to  the-center  pole,  he  wore  an  eagle-feather  war  bonnet 
reaching  to  the  ground,  and  carried  in  his  right  hand  a  staff.  (See 
PI.  LXI1I.) 

In  a  similar  form  of  torture  whereby  the  dancer  was  attached  to 
the  center-pole,  he  bore  suspended  by  means  of  buckskin  thongs 
lapped  over  skewers  in  his  back,  a  certain  number  of  dried  buffalo 
skulls,  sometimes  four  in  number,  or  there  might  be  as  many  as  six 
buffalo  skulls,  one  being  placed  just  over  each  shoulder,  and  four  being 
hung  at  the  back.  (See  PI.  LXIV.) 

Another  form  of  torture,  and  practiced  long  ago,  was  similar  to 
the  forms  already  described,  but  in  this  case  the  skewers  were  inserted, 
not  in  the  breast,  but  in  the  skin  of  the  cheeks  just  under  the  eyes.  (See 
PI.  LXV.) 

The  second  form  of  torture  was  that  practiced  about  the  camp- 
circle  rather  than  within  the  Sun  Dance  lodge.  Of  this  form  the  com 
monest  method  was  for  the  dancer  to  drag  one  or  more  dried  buffalo 
skulls  attached  to  skewers  inserted  in  his  back,  just  as  the  skewers 
were  inserted  in  the  breast,  as  already  described.  It  seems  that 
in  former  times  it  was  not  uncommon  for  large  numbers  of  men 
to  make  the  entire  circuit  of  the  camp-circle,  having  started  at  the 
south  side  of  the  east  opening,  dragging  from  one  to  fifteen  buffalo 
skulls.  The  number  of  skulls  dragged  depended,  of  course,  upon  the 
nature  of  the  vow. 

This  method  of  torture  was  commonly  practiced  by  the  Cheyenne 
on  occasions  other  than  the  Sun  Dance;  and  indeed,  it  is  said  that 

*In  illustrating  this  and  other  forms  of  torture  practiced  there  have  been  used,  by  direct 
reproduction,  drawings  made  by  Richard  Davis,  the  interpreter. 


PL.  LXIII.    SUN  DANCE  TORTURE,  TO  THE  CENTER-POLE. 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY.    PL.   LXIII. 


:. 

^™$g?:1 


\>f 


* 


n& 


PL.  LXIV.    TORTURE  BY  MEANS  OF  SKULLS  ATTACHED  TO  THE  BACK. 


B  R  A 

OF   THE 

UNIVERSITY 

OF 


HELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,    PL.   LXIV. 


^*>      ~40*>"1 


.3X33HO    3HT    HI    3R3W3X8    Y8    3HUTHOT     .VXJ 


PL.  LXV.    TORTURE  BY  SKEWERS  IN  THE  CHEEKS. 


u 


' 


\ 


\ 


OF   TH. 

UNIVERSITY 

•F 


FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM. 


ANTHROPOLOGY,   PL.    LXVI. 


PL.  LXVI.    TORTURE  IN  FULFILLMENT  OF  A  DREAM. 


.IVXJ   . 


- 


PL.  LXVII.    ANCIENT  TRIBAL  TORTURE  MARKS. 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  177 

whenever  the  Cheyenne  came  together  in  a  body,  it  was  a  common  sight 
to  see  men  torturing  themselves  in  this  apparently  popular  manner. 

Torture  by  means  of  suspension  by  thongs  attached  to  skewers 
in  the  breast  was  also  common  on  other  than  Sun  Dance  occasions. 
Thus,  frequently  one  or  more  individuals  would  go  to  a  lonely  hill 
and  attach  themselves  by  means  of  thongs  passed  over  skewers  in 
their  breasts,  to  a  long  lariat,  one  end  of  which  had  already  been  fas 
tened  high  up  in  a  tree. 

Often  the  occasion  for  torture  had  its  origin  in  a  dream.  PL 
LXVI.  is  from  a  drawing  illustrating  a  man  undergoing  torture  in  ac 
cordance  with  a  dream,  during  which  he  thought  that  he  fasted  all  day 
and  dragged  eight  buffalo  skulls,  four  male  and  four  female,  around  a 
high  mountain.  The  time  of  making  the  circuit  required  an  entire 
day.  When  he  actually  underwent  the  torture  and  was  cut  loose  in 
the  evening,  he  claimed  to  be  in  no  way  fatigued.  He  claimed  there 
after  to  have  received  certain  powers  from  the  great  medicine-spirit. 

It  remains  to  note  a  form  of  torture  which  the  Cheyenne  believe 
always  to  have  been  practiced  amongst  themselves,  and  which  in 
their  estimation  furnishes  the  basis  for  the  tribal  sign  formerly  made 
for  the  Cheyenne,  which  was  indicated  by  repeatedly  directing  the 
index  finger  of  the  right  hand  across  the  left  arm  from  above  the  elbow 
down  toward  the  wrist.  In  the  illustration  (see  PI.  LXVII.)  maybe  seen 
the  marks  which  are  said  to  have  been  made  by  a  sharp  flint  knife.  It 
is  claimed  that  all  male  Cheyenne  were  thus  marked,  and  that  most 
Cheyenne  to-day  who  are  eighty  or  more  years  of  age  still  bear  the  scars. 
In  the  illustration  it  will  be  noted  that  above  the  elbow  are  seven 
gashes,  while  below  are  twelve. 

A  similar  form  of  torture  is  said  to  have  been  practiced  in  ancient 
times  by  removing  four  circular  pieces  from  the  arm  above  the  elbow 
and  eight  pieces  below  the  elbow.  This  method  is  also  represented 
in  Plate  LXVII. 

THE    TORTURE    INCIDENTS    OF   1903. 

That  one  or  two  Cheyenne  had  long  before  the  ceremony  taken  a 
vow  to  undergo  torture  during  the  performance  of  1903  there  is  no 
doubt.  That  a  greater  amount  of  torture  was  not  performed  is, 
no  doubt,  due  to  the  fact  that  the  leaders  of  the  ceremony  believed 
that  to  indulge  in  torture  would  place  the  tribe  in  a  false  position. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  on  the  morning  of  the  next  to  the  last  day,  that  is, 
on  the  morning  of  the  erection  of  the  altar,  Roman-Nose  made  the 
following  announcement:  "For  many  years  past  it  has  been  the 
custom  of  our  people  to  celebrate  a  performance  of  this  old  ceremony. 


178     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

Among  our  old  beliefs  and  forms  of  worship  was  the  idea  that  when  a 
man  made  a  vow  to  be  pierced  on  the  breast,  that  sickness  would 
leave  his  family  and  that  they  would  enjoy  good  health.  To-night 
one  of  our  number  will  perform  this  part  of  the  ceremoay ;  in  order 
that  it  may  be  done  aright  and  that  it  may  not  injure  our  cause,  no 
person  will  be  allowed  in  the  lodge  after  sundown. "  According  to  the 
informant  the  individual  referred  to  was  Bull-Tongue,  who  had  a  sick 
daughter ;  and  before  the  ceremony  he  had  vowed  that  he  would  dance 
all  night  partially  suspended  by  a  lariat  from  the  center-pole.  Some 
time  during  the  night,  Bushy-Head,  a  well-known  Cheyenne  priest  and 
medicine  man,  prepared  a  rawhide  lariat  and  fastened  a  loop  in  each 
end  and  measured  it  so  that  it  was  sufficiently  long  to  permit  of  any  one 
attached  to  the  ends  of  it  to  retire  from  the  center-pole  almost  to 
the  side  of  the  lodge.  He  then  rolled  into  a  ball  one-half  of  the 
lariat,  placed  it  on  a  tipi  pole,  and  threw  it  over  one  end  of  one  of  the 
reach  poles,  where  it  rested  in  the  fork  of  the  center-pole.  Bull- 
Tongue  took  his  blanket  on  the  north  side  of  the  lodge  and  sat  down, 
leaning  back  on  his  outstretched  arms.  Bushy-Head  knelt  down  by 
the  side  of  him  and  took  up  a  pinch  of  the  skin  of  his  breast  and  en 
deavored  to  push  through  it  the  blade  of  a  knife  which  had  been 
ground  down  until  it  was  about  the  size  of  an  awl.  In  this  operation 
he  was  assisted  by  Bull-Thunder.  Owing  to  the  toughness  of  the 
skin,  or  the  excessive  bluntness  of  the  knife,  Bushy-Head  did  not  suc 
ceed  in  inserting  the  blade  of  the  knife  and  it  slipped,  making  a 
slight  and  insignificant  wound  upon  the  breast,  whereupon  he  declared 
that  thus  Bull-Tongue  had  fulfilled  his  vow.  It  seems  that  it  was  not 
permitted  Bushy-Head,  by  the  custom  of  torture,  to  make  a  second  at 
tempt  to  make  a  hole  for  the  skewer  after  he  had  once  failed.  Bushy- 
Head  was  selected  by  Bull-Tongue  himself  inasmuch  as  Bushy-Head 
had  on  two  occasions  danced  thus  suspended  from  the  center-pole 
during  the  entire  night. 

It  was  learned  after  the  ceremony  that  two  men  had  made  a  vow  to 
undergo  torture  on  that  afternoon,  namely,  to  have  the  two  sides  of 
their  breasts  pierced,  be  attached  to  the  center-pole  by  means  of 
a  buffalo  hide  lariat  attached  to  skewers,  and  jerk  loose.  They  were  dis 
suaded,  however,  from  making  the  attempt. 

The  second  torture  incident  of  the  1903  ceremony  was  performed 
very  early  in  the  morning,  following  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremony, 
that  is  early  on  Friday  morning,  the  dance  itself  having  terminated 
Thursday  afternoon.  That  torture  was  to  take  place  on  this  morning 
was  not  known,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  by  more  than  half  a  dozen 
members  of  the  entire  tribe. 


PL.  LXVIII.    TORTURE  INCIDENT  OF  1903.   (CARPENTER. ) 


MAY,  1905. 


THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY. 


179 


Before  sunrise  on  this  morning  the  young  man  who  was  to  un 
dergo  the  ordeal,  with  Bushy-Head,  the  medicine  man,  and  an  assist 
ant,  went  to  the  south  side  of  the  eastern  entrance.  There  two  small 
skewers  about  two  inches  in  length  and  an  eighth  of  an  inch  in  diameter 
were  inserted  in  the  subject's  back  by  Bushy-Head  after  the  manner 


FIG.  105.    Diagram  showing  method 
of  attaching  torture  thongs. 


FIG.  106.     Individual  with  thongs  attached 
to  back.     (Carpenter. ) 


described.  (See  Figs.  105  and  106.)  Over  each  of  these  was  looped  a  short 
buckskin  band,  which  in  turn  was  made  fast  to  one  end  of  a  lariat,  to  the 
other  end  of  which  were  attached  two  fragments  of  old  buffalo  skulls. 

(SeePl.LXVIII.and 
Fig.  107.)  These  he 
dragged  around  the 
inside  of  the  camp- 
circle  and  back  to  the 
starting-point.  The 
time  occupied  in 
traversing  the,  ap 
proximately,  two 
miles,  was  from 
thirtv-five  to  forty- 


FIG.  107.     Dragging  buffalo  skulls  attached  to  back. 
(Mooney.) 


five  minutes.     Hav 
ing    completed    the 


180     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 


circuit  he  sat  down  and  Bushy-Head's  assistant  with  a  sharp  knife  cut 
the  skin  on  the  upper  side  and  released  the  skewers.  (See  Fig.  108.) 
The  skewers,  knife, 
and  short  buckskin 
thongs  were  depos 
ited  on  the  ground 
by  the  side  of  one  of 
the  buffalo  skulls. 
Later  they  were  pur 
chased  by  an  ob 


server  for  a  small 
sum  from  Bushy- 
Head.  In  this  per 
formance  the  man 
undergoing  the  tor 
ture  gave  no  evi 
dence  of  suffering 
pain  in  the  slightest 
degree,  nor  was  it 
probable  that  he 
suffered  much,  owing  to  the  scant  supply  of  nerves  in  the  skin  of  the 
back,  as  well  as  to  the  fact  that  the  buffalo  skulls  were  fragments  and 
very  light  in  weight.  During  the  performance  his  body  was  naked 
except  for  a  loin-cloth  and  moccasins.  Before  leaving  his  own  tipi  he 
had  given  his  body  a  thin  coat  of  white  clay  paint.  Apparently  there 
was  no  rite  or  rites  of  any  sort  connected  with  this  performance, 
the  mere  ordeal  itself,  enacted  in  a  matter  of  fact  way,  serving  to 
fulfill  the  vow. 


FIG.  108.     Priest  removing  the  skewers.     (Carpenter.) 


PART  V.-CONCLUSION. 

Attention  may  be  directed,  first,  to  an  inquiry  as  to  possible 
changes  which  have  taken  place  in  the  Sun  Dance  since  the  confine 
ment  of  the  Cheyenne  upon  a  reservation.  Inasmuch  as  no  trustworthy 
detailed  account  of  the  ceremony  of  twenty  or  thirty  years  ago  exists, 
it  is  not  possible  to  make  a  comparison  in  the  literal  sense  of  the  word. 
An  estimate  can  only  be  made  as  to  the  amount,  if  any,  of  deterioration 
or  change  which  has  taken  place  in  the  ceremony  during  that  time. 

Regarding  the  general  features  of  the  ceremony,  it  seems  reason 
able  to  believe  that  there  has  been  no  change.  Whatever  change  there 
may  have  been  has  been  one  of  degree  and  not  of  kind.  The  di- 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENXE  —  DORSEY.  181 

rection  in  which  this  change  presumably  has  proceeded  furthest,  is  in 
the  general  setting  of  the  ceremony.  Thus  buffalo  hide  tipis,  with  their 
brilliantly  painted  heraldic  devices  and  attending  poles  or  tripods 
bearing  medicine  bundles  or  shields,  and  the  travois,  have  been  re 
placed  by  canvas  tipis,  or  even  occasionally  canvas  tents,  while  ac 
companying  modern  tipis  or  tents  are  wagons  or  carriages,  which 
have  entirely  replaced  the  travois.  Another  direction  in  which  there 
has  been  great  change  is  in  the  costume  of  the  participants,  and 
even  to  a  greater  extent,  of  the  spectators;  buckskin  and  buffalo 
robes,  in  both  cases,  having  been  almost  entirely  replaced  by  gar-  * 
ments  obtained  from  the  trader. 

The  greatest  change  in  the  ceremony  itself  is,  unquestionably, 
the  practically  total  absence  of  forms  of  torture  and  the  shortening 
which  has  been  gradually  taking  place,  through  many  years,  of 
the  period  of  fasting  from  four  to  two  days.  There  is  reason  to  be 
lieve  that  formerly  torture,  in  one  form  or  another,  during  the  Sun 
Dance,  was  extremely  common,  so  common,  indeed,  that  observers 
were  often  ready  to  believe  that  it  formed  the  fundamental  element  of 
the  drama.  Coupled  with  the  disappearance  of  the  torture,  has 
been  the  abolition  of  the  custom  of  piercing  the  children's  ears 
during  the  ceremony. 

That  the  ceremony  is  now  devoid  of  certain  minor  features,  some 
of  considerable  interest,  there  can  also  be  no  question.  Thus  children 
no  longer  make  images  or  effigies  of  clay,  especially  those  of  the  buf 
falo,  and  deposit  them  at  the  base  of  the  center-pole.  There  is  no 
longer  the  boisterous  hilarity  and  wild  enthusiasm  which  seemed  to 
have  characterized  the  older  performances.  Bands  of  boys  and  young 
men  no  longer  terrorize  the  camp  at  night,  shooting  every  dog 
they  encounter  and  frightening  the  women  and  children.  Young 
men  no  longer  seize  the  younger  boys  and  compel  them  to  submit 
to  many  practices  by  which  formerly  they  must  have  suffered.  It  is 
reasonable  to  believe,  also,  that  with  the  disappearance  of  these  more 
strenuous  forms  of  amusement,  there  disappeared  also  much  of  the 
more  harmless  forms  of  amusement  in  the  camp.  The  participants, 
presumably,  are  more  sober,  give  rein  less  freely  to  strong  emotions, 
which  formerly  found  vent  in  many  dances,  social  or  otherwise, 
especially  those  of  love,  war,  etc.  That  the  ceremony,  however,  still 
forms  an  important  part  in  the  social  life  of  the  tribe  is  evident.  The 
Cheyenne,  no  less  than  other  communities,  of  whatsoever  color  or 
nationality,  require  an  opportunity,  at  least  once  a  year,  to  exercise 
various  social  functions,  and  especially  to  give  exercise  to  the  inborn 
human  desire  to  assemble  in  large  numbers.  This  opportunity  the 


182     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

ceremony  still  gives  to  the  tribe,  in  spite  of  the  curtailment  or  abridg 
ment  of  a  certain  independence  which  characterized  the  older  per 
formances. 

That  the  majority  of  Cheyenne  of  middle  life,  and  even  a  very  large 
number  of  the  young  men  who  have  been  educated  in  the  reservation  or 
non-reservation  schools,  still  have  faith  in  the  power  of  the  Sun  Dance 
to  continue  the  life  and  health  of  the  tribe,  there  is  no  doubt.  To 
illustrate  the  fact  that  the  Cheyenne  still  believe  in  the  ceremonies  of 
the  Sun  Dance  and  in  the  danger  of  speaking  disrespectfully  of  the 
lodge,  may  be  cited  the  following  statement  of  Roman-Nose,  made 
during  the  ceremony  of  1903  :  "Agent  White  said  that  the  Sun  Dance 
was  no  good.  Soon  after  that  he  was  at  the  telephone  and  lightning 
stunned  him  for  half  a  day.  Again,  Agent  White  said  that  the  Sun 
Dance  was  all  nonsense.  Shortly  after  this  one  of  his  clerks  received 
a  shock  from  lightning.  So  it  is  proved  that  lightning  or  trouble  of 
some  sort  is  sure  to  befall  any  one  who  talks  slightingly  of  the  Sun 
Dance  lodge,  or  who  displeases  the  great  medicine-spirit. " 

That  the  Sun  Dance  has  been  given  up  in  one  tribe  and  not  in 
another  does  not  mean  that  the  tribe  which  no  longer  continues  the 
ceremony  does  not  believe  in  its  efficacy,  for  the  history  of  the 
ceremony  in  such  tribes  reveals  the  fact  that  it  was  abandoned  owing 
to  pressure  from  without,  and  not  from  lack  of  desire  to  retain  the 
ceremony  within  the  tribe. 

In  the  second  place,  it  will  be  of  interest  to  compare  the  Sun 
Dance  of  the  Cheyenne  with  that  of  the  Arapaho.  It  may  be  stated 
at  once  that  the  ceremonies  seem  to  be  the  same  in  their  general  con 
struction;  that  differences  such  as  exist  are  no  greater,  for  example, 
than  those  in  the  performance  of  the  same  ceremony  in  villages  on  the 
different  mesas  among  the  Hopi.  The  Arapaho  ceremony  is,  un 
doubtedly,  more  complicated  than  that  of  the  Cheyenne,  due,  pre 
sumably,  to  the  introduction  of  elements  originally  foreign  to  the 
ceremony.  These  introduced  elements,  and  points  of  dissimilarity 
between  the  two  ceremonies  are  not,  however,  so  radical  as  to  make 
it  probable  that  the  ceremonies  are  morphologically  distinct.  A 
brief  comparative  view  of  the  two  ceremonies  brings  out  very  clearly 
their  fundamental  unity.  Thus  each  ceremony  results  from  a  vow,  the 
one  making  the  vow  selecting  a  chief  priest  to  conduct  the  rites  of  the 
ceremony,  to  whom,  on  either  one  or  two  nights  of  the  ceremony,  he 
offers  his  wife.  Continuing  the  comparative  view,  from  this  point, 
it  may  be  noted  that  the  time  and  duration  of  the  ceremony,  the 
formation  of  the  camp-circle,  the  position  of  the  Lone-tipi,  and  the 
construction  and  general  character  of  the  Sun  Dance  lodge,  are  prac- 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  183 

tically  the  same.  In  each  lodge  we  find  an  altar,  a  common  method 
of  dancing,  and  'in  general  a  similar  color  scheme  for  the  dancer's 
paints  and  costumes.  The  lodge  in  each  case  is  appropriately  dedi 
cated  and  with  similar  rites ;  the  actions  of  the  dancers  have  much 
in  common;  at  the  conclusion  of  the  ceremony  each  lodge,  including 
its  altar,  is  left  to  the  elements. 

From  this  brief  resume  of  the  main  points  of  similarity,  details  of 
difference  may  be  noted.  The  dancers  of  the  Cheyenne  ceremony  are, 
as  a  rule,  not  those  who  have  pledged  to  dance  as  among  the  Arapaho, 
but  they  dance  because  they  belong  to  the  same  social  organization 
as  the  man  who  has  pledged  the  ceremony.  The  secret  tipi  of  prepara 
tion  in  the  Cheyenne  ceremony,  like  that  of  the  Arapaho,  is  car 
ried  into  the  open  space  in  the  circle,  but  the  tipi  is  carried  by 
women  and  not  by  men,  as  among  the  Arapaho,  and  is  known,  suc 
cessively,  as  the  Warriors'-tipi,  the  Priests '-tipi,  and  the  Lone-tipi, 
whereas  among  the  Arapaho  it  is  known  as  the  Rabbit-tipi.  The  taboos 
of  the  tipi  of  preparation  are  more  severe  and  greater  in  number  among 
the  Arapaho  than  among  the  Cheyenne.  The  secret  rites  of  t 
secret  tipi  of  preparation  among  the  Cheyenne  comprise  the  making 
of  successive  "earths,"  the  drum-stick  rattles,  and  the  center-pole 
image;  these  are  not  found  in  the  Arapaho.  In  the  Arapaho  tipi  of 
preparation  there  occurs  the  painting  of  a  buffalo  robe  to  be  used  on 
the  center-pole.  The  buffalo  skull  is  found  in  both  secret  tipis, 
and  in  each  its  eye-sockets  and  nasal  cavity  are  provided  with  grass 
plugs.  The  painting  of  the  skull  in  the  Cheyenne  ceremony  differs 
materially  from  that  of  the  Arapaho.  During  the  preliminary  days, 
but  one  important  event  is  found  in  the  Arapaho  ceremony  which 
is  not  found  in  the  Cheyenne,  viz. :  the  ceremonial  killing  of  the  buffalo, 
the  painting  of  the  robe  of  which  has  already  been  noted.  The  tem 
porary  altar  for  the  secret  rite  of  preparation  in  the  Cheyenne  cere 
mony  lacks  the  sacred  wheel  on  its  symbolic  support,  which  plays  an 
important  part  in  the  Arapaho  ceremony.  The  belt  and  head-dress 
of  the  wife  of  the  Lodge-maker  in  the  Arapaho  ceremony  are  sacred 
and  are  handed  down  from  one  ceremony  to  another.  In  the 
Cheyenne  ceremony  the  belt  and  head-dress  are  constructed  anew 
for  each  performance.  Women  cut  down  the  center-pole  in  the 
Arapaho  ceremony,  whereas  this  is  done  by  men  in  the  Cheyenne.  In 
abandoning  the  secret  tipi  in  the  Cheyenne  performance  the  wife  of 
the  Lodge-maker  carries  the  buffalo  skull;  the  Lodge-maker  himself 
carries  it  in  the  Arapaho  performance.  The  painting  of  the  four  rafter 
poles  and  the  center-pole  lack  the  interest  in  the  Cheyenne  ceremony  X 
this  rite  has  in  the  Arapaho.  The  sacred  pipe  and  the  wheel  play  a 


184     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM — ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

more  important  part  in  the  latter  ceremony.  In  the  Cheyenne  cer 
emony  the  area  to  be  painted  is  found  by  measuring,  the  one  doing 
this  work  being  accompanied  only  by  the  Lodge-maker,  who  does  the 
painting.  The  remainder  of  the  priests  continue  to  rest  half-way  be 
tween  the  secret  tipi  and  the  lodge.  In  the  Arapaho  ceremony  all  the 
principal  Rabbit-tipi  priests,  including  the  wife  of  the  Lodge-maker, 
take  part  in  the  rite  of  painting  the  poles,  the  places  where  the  poles 
are  to  be  painted  being  indicated  by  the  chief  priest  with  a  pipe  stem 
and  by  his  wife  with  the  feathers  of  the  wheel.  In  the  fork  of  the 
center-pole  in  the  ceremony  of  each  tribe  is  the  Thunder-Bird's 
nest.  That  of  the  Cheyenne  contains  a  digging-stick,  a  damaged 
arrow,  and  a  small  human  image.  That  of  the  Arapaho  contains  a 
buffalo  robe,  with  ceremonial  attachments,  and  a  digging-stick.  The 
Thunder-Bird  nest  of  the  Arapaho  is  of  willows;  that  of  the  Cheyenne 
of  dogwood  and  cotton-wood.  The  dance  on  the  night  of  dedication 
the  Cheyenne  call  the  hand-and-arm  drill,  the  Arapaho  call  it 
the  dance  to  the  Four-Old-Men.  On  the  morning  of  the  altar  the 
Arapaho  dance  to  the  rising  sun;  the  Cheyenne  do  not.  The  buifalo 
robe  of  the  Lodge-maker,  prepared  in  the  secret  tipi  among  the 
Cheyenne,  is  reinforced  by  nine  bits  of  rabbit  skin;  among  the 
Arapaho  by  an  equal  number  of  medicinal  roots,  each  one  of  different 
magic  power.  In  each  performance  the  priests  leave  the  lodge 
to  secure  sods.  In  the  Arapaho  performance  the  movement  of  the 
line  of  priests  imitates  that  of  the  path  of  flying  geese.  The  Arapaho 
require  for  their  altar  two  ceremonial  pieces  of  sod  arranged  one  on 
either  side  of  the  buffalo  skull.  The  Cheyenne  require  five,  arranged 
about  the  skull,  and  broken  up  and  connected  so  as  to  form  a  semi 
circle.  A  comparison  of  the  finished  altar  of  the  two  ceremonies  re- 
.  veals  the  following  differences,  in  addition  to  the  ones  just  noted, 
and  the  difference  in  the  decoration  of  the  skulls.  The  excavation 
in  front  of  each  skull  was  painted,  that  of  the  Arapaho  half  black 
and  half  red,  that  of  the  Cheyenne  in  four  different  colored  lines; 
over  the  excavation  in  the  Arapaho  ceremony  were  seven  rainbow 
sticks, half  of  each  of  which  were  painted  black  and  half  red;  the  rain 
bow  sticks  of  the  Cheyenne  altar  were  four  in  number,  each  painted 
differently,  to  correspond  to  the  four  lines  of  paint  in  the  excavation; 
on  each  side  of  the  excavation  in  the  Arapaho  altar  were  two  billets  of 
wood;  these  were  absent  in  the  Cheyenne  altar;  the  nine  sticks 
symbolic  of  men  on  each  side  of  the  excavation  in  the  Cheyenne  altar, 
comprising  the  Cheyenne  sticks  painted  black  and  red,  and  the  enemy 
sticks  painted  white,  were  replaced  by  seven  sticks  on  each  side  of 
the  excavation  in  the  Arapaho  altar,  those  on  one  side  being  painted 


MAY,  1905.  THE    CHEYENNE  —  DORSEY.  185 

black  and  those  on  the  other  side  red,  the  sticks  being  collectively 
typical  of  the  seven  periods  of  creation.  The  vegetation  of  the  altar 
is  represented  by  the  Cheyenne  by  plum  and  cottonwood  boughs,  and 
small  bushes  set  upright  in  the  semi-circular  ridge  around  the  skull. 
In  the  Arapaho  altar  they  are  represented  by  small  bushes  inserted 
in  each  of  the  two  circular  pieces  of  sod  and  by  seven  boughs  arranged 
in  a  straight  row,  four  on  the  right  and  three  on  the  left  of  the  skull. 
Behind  the  Arapaho  altar  stands  the  wheel  on  its  support  and  the 
secret  bundle ;  on  the  Cheyenne  altar  the  secret  bundle  only  is  present, 
and  contains,  in  addition  a  black  pipe  similar  in  shape  to  the  red  pipe  in 
the  Arapaho  bundle,  a  buffalo  chip.  In  the  final  dance  the  Arapaho 
face  the  setting  sun ;  the  Cheyenne  dance  to  the  four  directions,  and  are 
led  several  times  around  the  center-pole  by  the  Chief  Priest.  The 
manufacture  of  sweet  or  holy  water  in  a  bowl  behind  the  altar  is  an 
important  rite  in  the  Arapaho  ceremony ;  it  is  not  found  in  the 
Cheyenne.  The  sacred  pipe  is  smoked  on  the  evening  of  the  conclu 
sion  of  the  performance  by  the  Cheyenne ;  on  the  following  morning 
by  the  Arapaho,  preceded  by  a  rite  to  the  rising  sun.  On  this 
same  morning  the  Arapaho  place  many  offerings  of  cast-off  garments 
on  the  altar  foliage  and  on  the  center-pole  and  uprights  of  the  lodge ;  the 
Cheyenne  made  no  such  offerings.  The  paint  of  the  Arapaho  was  com 
plicated  by  the  introduction  of  so-called  dream-paints.  It  was  pro 
gressive,  however,  and  led  to  what  may  be  termed  a  medicine  rain- 
making  paint;  the  paints  of  the  Cheyenne  were  less  complicated,  and 
led  more  logically  to  the  same  end. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  though  there  are  many  minor  differences, 
none  exist  of  fundamental  importance.  The  conclusions  already 
reached  may  be  repeated;  the  two  ceremonies  seem  to  be  morpho 
logically  the  same. 

It  remains  to  consider  the  drama  of  the  Sun  Dance  in  con 
nection  with  the  ritual.  To  do  this  for  the  Arapaho  is  extremely 
difficult,  as  the  connection  between  the  drama  and  the  ritual  is  never 
so  apparent  as  to  be  convincing.  The  connection  in  the  Cheyenne 
is  much  more  striking  and  logical.  The  intimacy  of  this  connection 
is  at  once  suggested  by  the  difference  in  the  meaning  of  the  name 
applied  to  the  ceremony  by  the  two  tribes,  the  Arapaho  calling  it 
"The  Ceremony  of  the  Offerings-Lodge,"  the  Cheyenne  " The  Cere 
mony  of  Rebirth.  "  According  to  the  Cheyenne  ritual,  the  ceremony 
owes  its  origin  to  the  fact  that  during  a  time  of  famine  a  certain 
man  of  the  tribe,  later  known  as  Erect-Horns,  and  represented  in 
the  actual  ceremony  of  to-day  by  the  Lodge-maker,  left  the  camp 
with  a  woman,  not  his  wife,  visited  a  medicine  mountain,  was  re- 


i86     FIELD    COLUMBIAN    MUSEUM  —  ANTHROPOLOGY,  VOL.  IX. 

ceived  by  the  Great  Medicine,  represented  in  the  ceremony  by  the 
Chief  Priest,  remained  there  four  years,  learned  the  ceremony,  gave 
as  payment  his  companion,  returned  to  his  tribe,  performed  the  cer 
emony,  and  rescued  his  tribe  from  starvation.  It  is  thus  apparent 
from  this  resume  of  the  ritual  that  the  ceremony  which  he  learned 
was  not  of  recent  origin.  The  fact  that  the  ceremony  was  per 
formed  in  the  mountain  is  brought  out  in  other  Cheyenne  tales. 
It  is  not  apparent  from  the  tale  itself  that  this  ceremony  was  a  drama 
epitomizing  creation;  but  such,  however,  seems  to  be  the  underlying 
motive  in  the  drama.  It  should  be  noted,  however,  that  the  creation 
here  referred  to  and  as  conceived  of  by  the  Cheyenne  is  not  the  actual 
first  creation,  but  is  rather  a  renewal  of  creation,  or  of  rebirth.  As 
one  of  the  priests  expressed  it,  "The  object  of  the  ceremony  is  to  make 
the  whole  world  over  again,  and  from  the  time  the  Lodge-maker 
makes  his  vow  everything  is  supposed  to  begin  to  take  on  new  life, 
for  the  Medicine-Spirit,  having  heard  the  prayer  of  the  pledger,  begins 
at  once  to  answer  it.  When  the  man  makes  the  vow,  he  does  it  not 
so  much  for  himself  or  his  family,  as  for  the  whole  tribe.  Attending 
upon  his  vow  and  its  fulfillment  is  an  abundance  of  good  water  and 
good  breath  of  the  wind,  which  is  the  same  as  the  breath  of  the 
Medicine-Spirit  who  regards  all  things.  At  the  time  of  the  Lone- 
tipi,  when  the  earth  is  first  created,  it  is  just  beginning  to  grow.  As 
the  ceremony  progresses,  this  earth  increases  in  size,  and  when  the 
lodge  itself  is  erected  we  build  a  fire  which  represents  the  heat  of  the 
sun,  and  we  place  the  lodge  to  face  the  east  that  the  heavenly  bodies 
may  pass  over  it  and  fertilize  it. " 

On  one  point  the  Cheyenne  priests  of  to-day  seem  to  unite,  and 
that  is  that  the  ceremony  of  the  Sun  Dance  as  they  perform  it  was 
once  the  exclusive  property  of  a  single  band,  that  of  the  Sutayo. 
This  band  differed,  they  say,  from  others  in  dress  and  language. 
Against  the  Sutayo  the  other  bands  of  Cheyenne  fought  for  a  long 
time,  the  Missouri  River  between  them.  Finally  peace  was  made; 
they  exchanged  medicines  and  the  Sutayo  were  assimilated  with  the 
Cheyenne,  bringing  with  them  the  Sun  Dance.  Whether  the  Sun 
Dance  originated  with  the  Sutayo,  who  were  perhaps  Crees,  or  with 
the  Arapaho,  or  whether  one  or  the  other  tribe,  or  both,  borrowed  it, 
is  a  subject  for  further  investigation. 


RECT) 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BEkKLLEY 
FORM  NO.  DD6,60m,  1/83         BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


